


Return to Seireitei, Mysterious Shinigami!

by MorganFaire



Series: The Mysterious Shinigami [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Gen, Nudity, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Other, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Post-Canon, Post-Thousand Year Blood War Arc, Pre-Epilogue, Sex, Tags Are Hard, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:47:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 39,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27350725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganFaire/pseuds/MorganFaire
Summary: April, 2006.Three years ago, Seireitei defeated the Invading Quincy army led by Yhwach.One month ago, everyone celebrated the marital union of Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji.Somewhere high in the mountains of Soul Society, powerful kidou barriers finally break.This is the story of the 'mysterious shinigami' who emerges from that cave in the mountains.
Relationships: Abarai Renji/Kuchiki Rukia, Inoue Orihime/Kurosaki Ichigo
Series: The Mysterious Shinigami [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997437
Kudos: 17





	1. Outskirts of Seireitei

**Author's Note:**

> The events of this story take place following the Thousand Year Blood War arc. This is a novel based on Kubo Taito’s Bleach universe, and will use facts, plot lines and information gathered from the manga serialisation. No mention will be made to the anime ‘filler’ arcs, such as the Bount arc, and the Zanpakutou materialisation storyline. Whilst every effort has been made to reflect the events presented in the light novels, (authored by Narita Ryougo and Matsubara Makoto) set during the ten year period between the final manga arc and the epilogue, there may be some continuity errors.  
> Names and vocabulary will be presented as close to the original Japanese as possible: Shinigami, not soul reaper. Zanpakutou, not soul slayer. The same goes for character names: Kurosaki Ichigo, not Ichigo Kurosaki. Additionally, some words and phrases just make more sense when left in Japanese, so these will be shown in italicised romaji.  
> This novel contains violence, nudity, and sex. You have been warned.

***

**Prologue**

Among the extensive mountains that surround the far northern edge of Seireitei, is the entrance to a particularly secluded cave. A single soul lives a reclusive life in this cave, as they have now done for over a century. Today, she will finally emerge to an unfamiliar Seireitei; she does not know about the betrayal of Aizen Sousuke, Ichimaru Gin and Kaname Tousen. She knows nothing of Yhwach and the Quincy army that almost destroyed the worlds. On the night that our story begins, it has been exactly one hundred and seven years to the day since this shinigami began her exile. For the past seven years, she has waited patiently for her release from the cave that had never quite felt like home. She is desperately lonely and horribly malnourished, but still she waits. She waits for someone to remember her, as she stares beyond the barely visible barriers to look at the moon and the stars that hang above the Court of Pure Souls. She continues waiting, even though she knows that she could destroy those barriers without a second thought.

***

#### The Cave, 2006-04-15. 02:36 AM

The barriers finally crack as they expire. The shinigami that had been kept behind them for the last century sighs with relief as she moves to the small outer ledge of the cave. The moon was hanging high in the sky, meaning that it is already past midnight, but it is her first taste of freedom as the brisk nighttime air brushes against her face, and ruffles through her shaggy purple hair. The joy she feels in that moment, however, is fleeting.  
“What has happened out here?!” she gasps as she approaches the precipice. Her fingers twitch and summon spirit threads, “Too many. Too many unfamiliar reiatsu,” she nervously tugs on the long sleeves of her shihakushou. “What do we do, Ryuuko?”  
 _Our road forks, Mikko. The three paths are illuminated, but shadows gather across each. There is no single ‘right choice’—_  
 _What’re ya talkin’ about three paths?! Shaddup scaly. Mikko, listen ta me. There’re two paths open to us: return to Seireitei, or retreat to the human world. The third path, accordin’ ta Scales, woulda been ta remain ‘ere! While the dragon will happily laze in a cave for all eternity, the nature of the tiger is ta roam._  
“Even if I could shunpo directly to Shuushuu, there’s a chance I would be arrested, whether he remembers me or not. But, could I not be arrested for using the senkaimon without permission? Branded as a criminal or a traitor? And where would we end up?”  
 _Cloaking our reiatsu would be wise whatever your decision may be, Mikko. Whatever you choose, we are with you.  
_ Her eyebrows furrow in confusion, “Shuushuu…he’s in the Commander’s quarters. Yama-jii? Oh, Shuu-kun _is_ the Captain Commander,” she lifts her hood until it is low over her face. “Ryuuko, we now only have one path left. Let’s go.”

She leaps from the side of the mountain, using shunpo to gain even more height before soaring high over Seireitei with wings of shadow. With the central senkaimon firmly in sight, she brings forth a memory of learning how to operate the gate when she first moved to the Kidou Corps, and before dismissing the wings, she completes the chant and hand movements that would open it. Her wings collapse and she goes into a free-fall with the shadows now wrapped around her entire body, rendering her invisible as she lands across the threshold of the senkaimon. The guards had remained completely unaware of her presence as they were dumbfounded by the sudden opening of the gate. Immediately she is running towards an unknown destination in the human world. When she had activated the gate, she had simply set it to open to the last location used.


	2. Karakura Town: A rude awakening!

**04:45 AM**

Urahara Kisuke wakes to the ringing of the interworld communication device, and has to stifle a yawn as he picks up the receiver. Through his blurry eyes, he is unable to distinguish where exactly in Seireitei the call is coming from. 

“Urahara shop, this is Urahara Kisuke.”

“Urahara-san, thank-you for answering so early in the morning. Or, is it still night? Sorry to call you so urgently!” 

He snaps awake, “Don’t mention it, Captain Commander-san. I’m assuming this isn’t a social call, has something happened?” 

“Straight to the point! I always admired that about you. No small talk or bush-beating. I had an urgent report delivered by Akon-kun. It seems that the senkaimon was traversed without permission, about two hours ago now. He traced the opening to somewhere in Karakura town, and should be sending the coordinates to you ‘round about now. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, would you mind checking it out?”

“Of course! If I may, Kyouraku-san, I can almost smell the sake from here!”

“Oops! Sorry, sorry. Akon-kun~, could you please finish briefing Urahara?”

“Urahara-san. Apart from what the Captain Commander has already stated, all we know so far is that this individual used some high level reiatsu cloaking, and footage from inside the tunnel does not show so much as a shadow at the time in question. We’ve started procedures for a head count on our end, but the Division leaders themselves will have to oversee them in the morning. Whoever this is, and their reasons for leaving Seireitei, we will have to ask for your assistance. Kyouraku-sama has stated that he is open to talking to the absconder, meaning no arrest order, and certainly no kill order. I would venture as far to say that this seems to be more of a ‘search and rescue mission’, though I would still suggest having some kind of back-up. We’re counting on you, Urahara-san.”

“Right. Thanks, Akon-san. Get some sleep.”

***

Ichigo awakens to the sound of a light knocking at his door, “Ichi-nii, that old shopkeeper is at the front door. Are you awake?” 

He knows that Karin can only be referring to Urahara Kisuke as he sits up and fumbles for the substitute badge on his desk, “Yeah. Go back to bed Karin,” he presses his substitute shinigami badge to his chest and silently walks to the front door, not disguising his annoyance when the green-clad shinigami seems to be falling asleep against the side of the house. 

“Are you kidding me? Oi! Urahara,” the man snaps awake as Ichigo claps his hands. He is cold, tired, and royally pissed at his appearance. “What the hell is so urgent?” 

He covers a yawn with his folding fan. “Right. Commander Kyouraku just called me from Seireitei after the senkaimon was used without authorisation. It opened somewhere around here, so I wondered if you would accompany me. Just as a precaution.” 

The mention of Seireitei’s Captain Commander removes all thoughts of going back to bed from his mind. For Kyouraku to reach out in the middle of the night, there had to be a serious cause for concern. 

“Well I’m already awake. Fill me in then,” he says with a sigh.

“Certainly!” Urahara explains the situation as they shunpo across town. The location in question was in the industrial area of town, close to where one of the world transfer pillars had been constructed in preparation for the fight against Aizen almost five years ago.

“Well then, these are the coordinates Akon-san sent me. There’s definitely senkaimon residue here, but no reiatsu,” he kneels on the ground to set up some strange looking devices around the area.

“So what now? Do we search, or do we wait for him to reveal where he is?” 

He smiles at the young man’s lack of patience, “It would be almost impossible to search for him; I don’t have a single fibre, or an ounce of reiatsu to analyse and track.”

“This shinigami, is he dangerous?” 

“We simply have no way of knowing. However, Commander Kyouraku is very laid back about the situation as it stands right now. Akon-san described this as more of a ‘search and rescue’ mission than a ‘capture/kill’ scenario.”

Ichigo regrets coming on the wild goose chase, “So we’re just gonna stand around, and wait for him to show himself?” 

“I can’t think of any other way, and even the strongest kidou wears off eventually! If he doesn't seek us out when that happens, I suppose we will go to him.”

“Great! I’m so glad you woke me up for this, Urahara.” 

“Kurosaki-san, if there’s a topic you don’t want to broach with your father—”

“Nope.”

“Hypothetically speaking, if you have questions, I could have answers.”

“I definitely have questions, but I’m not sure I’ll like your answers to any of them.”

“Oh, how you injure me! If any of these questions concern your lineage, all I would be able say is that it was at the request of your father.”

“I guessed that much already. After that whole fiasco at the Spirit Palace, finding out about Mum, and how the zanpakutou I was carrying wasn’t actually my ‘true power’ but some bastardised manifestation of Yhwach’s will? Tsk. When we got back, I decided to buckle down and focus on just one part of my messed up identity - the human.”

“Well, with everything that’s happened I guess it would be fair to say that your human life was taken off course quite significantly. But look at you now! Kurosaki-san, you know more about yourself than you ever have, you’ve graduated school, and you just watched two of the people closest to you get married.”

“What I’m hearing is, ‘it doesn’t matter because it all worked out in the end’.”

“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it, though a rather depressing and pessimistic outlook for a young man such as yourself.”

He sighs, “Perhaps I’m finally experiencing that ‘teenage angst’ that I missed out on whilst cleaning up all of Seireitei’s messes.”

“By that same theory, perhaps it won’t just be that ‘teenage angst’ that you’ll be catching up on now that things have finally calmed down a bit, hm?”

With blood rushing to his face he gestures wildly at their surroundings, “We’re standing in a construction site at the dead of night, and you think things have calmed down enough for whatever perverted thing just entered your mind?!”

“I’m quite sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Drop the innocent act already, Urahara! Jeez. You know exactly what I’m talking about, and you’ve known for at least three years.”

“Oho, seems I’ve been found out! Inoue-san still has that outfit. Just so you know.”

“How would you even know that?!”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, they are referring to *that* outfit.  
> If you haven't already, read the thousand year blood war manga!  
> Because I can guarantee it's going to be heavily censored, if not changed completely, by the anime folks.


	3. A realisation?!

***

**Seireitei [05:00 AM]**

After retreating to his private rooms, Kyouraku Shunsui quickly sobered up in order to ponder who the absconder may be. The report that Lieutenant Akon had brought to him so urgently…he had read it so many times already that the words were printed in his mind.

_—FOR THE IMMEDIATE ATTENTION OF COMMANDER KYOURAKU—_  
_At precisely 02:43AM, the central senkaimon was activated without prior consent or authorisation._  
_The absconder exited in the southern ward of Karakura Town._  
_—NO REIATSU SIGNATURE. APPROACH WITH CAUTION—_

The lack of a reiatsu signature in particular nags in the back of his mind, as it has done since he first read the report. Instead of doubting the extensive technologies used by the Research and Development Institute to oversee the senkaimon network, Kyouraku decides to speak to the guards posted at the gate.  
After their initial fear of being approached by the Captain Commander, the two young Kidou Officers had concurred on one thing: ‘an incredible gust of cold air’ as the gate had opened. After some nervous laughter, the officers had also admitted that they didn’t report the incident immediately, because they had assumed that the gate had simply opened by itself, as it had been prone to doing over the years.

Shunsui had taken to walking around Seireitei over the last three years in an attempt to be a more ‘present’ Commander. Lieutenant Ise Nanao had, of course, protested profusely at the idea stating that he should always be accompanied by at least one guard. She had quickly moved past her objections when Shunsui had teased her about the two of them enjoying ‘private walks’ through the streets of Seireitei.

As he walks tonight, he finds himself reminiscing back to the time of the ‘old guard’, long before Aizen had finally revealed himself as a traitor. In particular, he remembers how the stern old Yamamoto had scowled at Captain Shiba as he had blundered his way through his report on the ‘black hollow’ he had encountered in Narita City. He stops rather suddenly as a thought crosses his mind. The air in Seireitei had been still, with barely a lick of a breeze in the minutes before the senkaimon had opened. A sudden blast of cold air, no traces of reiatsu, and not so much as a shadow inside the tunnel. He chuckles to himself as he begins walking with a bounce in his step towards his old barracks.

***

The sky blushes with the colours of the sunrise as he strolls casually towards his old office in the compound of the Eighth Division. He has visited a few times over the years, especially after his former Lieutenant, Yadoumaru Lisa, had reluctantly accepted the Captain’s haori. She had very quickly insisted that he finally remove the last of his ‘nostalgic trinkets’ from the office, before she relocated them to the bottom of one of the garbage pits.

The hallways are completely deserted as Shunsui reaches the door to the Captain’s office and knocks, “Lisa-chan~? Are you still sleeping in there?”  
The shouji screen almost shatters from the force with which Yadoumaru Lisa shoves it open before leveling her zanpakutou at Shunsui’s head.  
“You’re looking as lovely as ever—”  
“You do not get to weasel your way out of this with half-assed compliments, Kyouraku! What are you even doing here?!”  
“I need to look through the old Division records. To be precise, I need to find the records from just before you had to leave.”  
“That was over a hundred years ago! Wouldn’t they have been moved to one of the central data-banks, or at least digitised by now?”  
“They should have been, but I hid one of them somewhere even Nanao-chan wouldn’t have been able to find it.”  
She lowers her zanpakutou, “What’s this about, Kyouraku?”  
“The absconder. It occurred to me just now that I might know who they are.”  
“Tsk. Be quick about it, else the mask’ll come out.”  
“ _Kowai_ ~. I’ll be out of your hair in just a few minutes!”  
Though still reluctant to let him into the room, Lisa steps to one side with a sigh.

As tempted as she is to leave him to his treasure hunt, she needs to make sure that he doesn’t stumble across any of her own ‘treasures’—accidentally or otherwise. After just a few seconds, Shunsui turns and walks towards where one of his cabinets used to be, and crouches before levering up one of the tatami mats. Lisa’s curiosity finally gets the better of her as he pulls out a dust covered box from the secret cavity.

“I’m sorry, little owl,” his words trail off as he brushes the thick layers of dust from the lid of the box.  
Almost one hundred and twenty years ago, Shunsui and Jyoushirou had commissioned one of Soul Society’s finest woodworkers to craft the trinket box. It had cost them a tidy sum, but even after all these years it had retained many of its exquisite details.  
It was lacquered to a glossy black as dark as the night sky, and adorned with constellations. One side displays a cherry tree in full bloom, and a white tiger prowling around the trunk. On the other side, a blue dragon coils around a white wisteria tree.  
Lisa peers over his shoulder, “Kyouraku, why do you have something like that?”  
“It was a gift that Ukitake and I got for our favourite little shinigami. Hmph. She used it to store all of her various bits of writing.”  
She recalls that Shunsui was often given trinkets and other items by friends and family before they passed on. “And now you have it again. What happened to her?”  
His bones creak as he stands up, “There was an incident, and she was exiled.”  
“You’re being too cryptic, Kyouraku!”  
“Lisa-chan, this was the same year that you got your mask.”  
“That would mean—”  
“We can’t know for sure until Urahara reports back, so keep it to yourself for now.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Kowai (not to be confused with kawaii!) is the most common japanese word translated as 'scary'.


	4. A name is revealed!

**Karakura Town [05:25AM]**

The colours of the town’s skyline had started shifting away from the blue hues of dawn, brightening dramatically into a palette of orange, red, and gold as the sun crests the horizon. After what feels like over an hour of standing around, but was actually only half that time, Ichigo’s attention is drawn to the top of the nearby bridge, “Urahara. Up there.”   
With a nod, Urahara starts flicking switches and pushing buttons on several pieces of equipment, which all begin beeping in synchronised rhythms. As he stands up, he has an odd looking pair of binoculars pressed to his eyes.   
“So, do we just wait here whilst you perv on him?”  
“I would do no such thing! Here, have a look," he pauses until Ichigo places the binoculars over his eyes. “These binoculars are synced with the machines, and have pinpointed the reiatsu of the shinigami we’re looking for. However…”   
Ichigo has to blink a few times before he can believe what he’s seeing—or rather what he isn’t seeing, “He’s invisible?”   
“It certainly appears that way. It’s very likely that he has an illusion type zanpakutou, perhaps something along the lines of Aizen’s or Shinji’s. Or, he could be exceptionally talented in kidou like Tessai or Hachigen-san.”   
“I’ve got a real bad feeling about this whole thing, Urahara. Maybe it’s because you just mentioned Aizen, but…”   
“No, no! You must always listen to your instincts, and you may well be correct to be cautious. However, going straight on the offensive may make him an enemy when he never intended to be one,” he stops when his machines whir and beep. “Hm? The reiatsu disappeared,” squinting down at the screens, he once again starts flipping the various buttons and switches.  
“No. He used shunpo,” he says lifting the binoculars. “I can feel it.”   
“Very perceptive!”   
“That’s a speedy shunpo. I lost track.”   
“Indeed. However, it seems that our patience is about to be rewarded,” Kisuke gestures towards a nearby open space with a slight inclination of his head.   
As Ichigo follows his gaze, it appears as though the air around a single spot is distorting and melting away. Soon enough, the figure of a lean, and most certainly female, shinigami appears ahead of them. She wears a style of shihakushou that Ichigo has never seen before, and a hood that completely hides her face. She raises her arms before dropping to her knees.   
“I think this means that she is not a threat,” Kisuke suggests.   
Ichigo, however, is not convinced. “Or, she’s just waiting for us to get closer. I really don’t know about this, Urahara.”   
“Well, let’s keep our guards up then.”   
Slowly, the two men approach the mysterious shinigami. After closing a large distance, Kisuke motions that they should sit.   
“A shihakushou longer in the arms than the legs, and a reiatsu controller hood, if I’m not mistaken. Do you have a name, Shinigami-san?”   
“My name is Fujimori Michiko. May I inquire for yours?”   
Her name sounds familiar but he keeps that to himself, “Urahara Kisuke. Former Twelfth Division Captain of the Gotei Thirteen, and founder of the Research and Development Institute. This young man is Kurosaki Ichigo, a substitute shinigami. Are you comfortable? You can sit as we are instead of kneeling like that, Fujimori-san.”   
Though her shoulders visibly tense upon hearing that one of the men was once a Captain of the Gotei, she eases herself into a more comfortable position. “Thank you. As you were able to find me, that means that Seireitei knows that the senkaimon was used unauthorised. What are your orders, former captain?”   
“The Commander, Kyouraku Shunsui, simply asked that we verify your identity and establish why you left Seireitei in the way that you did.”   
Ichigo notices the way that she flinches when he mentions Kyouraku.   
“Did Yamamoto Genryuusai-sama perish?” her words grow heavy with emotion.   
“He lost his life in the recent war, about three years ago now.”   
She remains silent for a long moment with her fists tightly clenched. “Before I left Seireitei, I noticed that many familiar reiatsu had disappeared. Were they all lost so recently?”   
Urahara sighs softly, “Many souls were lost during the last conflict.”   
Her head drops, “Unohana Retsu, Ukitake Jyoushirou, Yamamoto Genryuusai, and his Lieutenant Sasakibe Choujirou. Those are just some of the notable reiatsu that I could not find.”   
Ichigo puts his head in his hands, “What does that mean, exactly? You came from Seireitei, so how is it that you can be so unaware of everything that's happened?”  
“It is a long story,” she begins. “I spent the last one hundred and seven years in isolation. The barriers that prevented my reiatsu from affecting the nearby souls finally eroded tonight,” she lifts her head. “Urahara-sama, you stated that your orders were to identify my reasons for coming here. The simple truth is that I have no reason, beyond that I was worried about returning to duty, when only Kyouraku-sama would potentially recognise me. When I realised that so many reiatsu had disappeared, and that in the moonlight Seireitei looked like nothing more than a ruined city, I was scared.”   
“A lot has certainly changed over the years you were away. I understand perfectly. If you would feel comfortable, I always have futons ready for any friends from Seireitei.”   
Her silver eyes widen, “You have only just met me, yet you would refer to me as a friend, and even offer a place to sleep?”   
“Well of course,” noticing the shock on Ichigo’s face, he elaborates. “You have made no move to cause harm to either of us, so as far as I’m concerned, I have no reason not to trust you. On the other hand, you have no reason to trust either of us.”  
“I do have a reason. Ryuuko has been communicating with your Benihime, and Kurosaki-san’s Zangetsu, since before I came to greet you. They told me that you both can be trusted, and they have never been wrong before.”   
At the mention of their zanpakutou’s names, Urahara quickly becomes more curious.   
As he ponders what this could mean, Ichigo launches into a barrage of questions. “Ryuuko? That’s your zanpakutou’s name? How are they communicating with Zangetsu and Benihime?”   
“All zanpakutou communicate with each other, young substitute. Most shinigami, however, will only notice it when their zanpakutou wants to fight against another. They talk to each other about as easily as we do.”   
“Fascinating. That also implies that you are in constant communication with your Ryuuko, and I didn’t think that any shinigami had achieved such a thing! Usually we would have to do blade meditation to talk with our zanpakutou, and after we finish…nothing.”   
She smiles, “Ryuuko has been my only company for the last century. Attaining this level of attunement was rather easy,” a deep purple mist swirls around her sleeves as she speaks. It takes under a minute for the mist to form the bodies of a small blue dragon, which coils over her shoulders, and a small white tiger that lounges in her lap. The stunned silence that follows makes her strangely happy.   
“Thank-you, shinigami, fer not hurtin’ our Mikko.”   
Ichigo and Kisuke share a puzzled look as they try to identify which of the creatures had spoken. In her mind, she jokingly scolds the tiger for not making it more obvious.   
“Eh, no problem at all. Kurosaki-san, it’s probably about time for you to head home, yes? And if you have no plans for tomorrow, perhaps you could swing by the shop.”   
“Right,” with a final look at the mysterious shinigami and the two beasts she had conjured, he sighs and jumps into the air before disappearing.   
“Fujimori-san, why is it that your name seems so familiar?”   
“I will admit that I expected more from the man who claims to be the founder of the Research Institute. I will refresh your memory. On this day, one hundred and seven years ago, you witnessed the Kidou Corps bind me in chains.”  
“Ah. That was a rather eventful year. Regardless, my offer of a resting place still stands, if you would like?”   
“Indeed. Thank-you for your kindness.”

***

Arriving home, the first thing he notices is that the front door is ajar. Thinking that he hadn’t closed it before leaving with Urahara earlier, he walks in. He sees his dad in the kitchen, and after a brief greeting he heads for the stairs.   
“Hold on a sec, kiddo. What were you doing patrolling at this time?”   
He stops walking and sighs, “I wasn’t patrolling. Urahara dragged me out for something.”   
“Just when things were looking to calm down. Has something happened?” he prompts.   
“Kyouraku-san wanted him to identify a shinigami who used the senkaimon without permission. Honestly, I have no idea why he had to drag me along.”  
“Did you find him?”   
“Eventually, but _her_ name’s Fujimori Michiko.”   
He waits for Ichigo to climb the stairs, “Fujimori Michiko?!” he whispers. Slumping onto the sofa, Isshin sifts through his memories, recalling the first time he had met her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name Fujimori Michiko is written with the following characters and definitions. (This is relevant later on!)  
> 藤 (fuji), meaning Wisteria.  
> 森 (mori), meaning Forest.  
> 美 (mi), meaning beauty/beautiful.  
> 智 (chi), for wisdom/intellect.  
> 子 (ko), for child.
> 
> The tiger spirit that addresses Ichigo & Kisuke speaks with a heavy accent. Think Ichimaru Gin/Hirako Shinji.


	5. The pendulum swings, and a story is revealed!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip into Seireitei's past explains just some of our mysterious shinigami's life!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End notes now include definitions and translations for names and terms that are presented in the 'original' japanese! (A reminder that these are shown in italicised romaji)

**Seireitei, c. 116 years ago.**

“Hostess! Have you room for our party?”

“Please wait a moment, honoured shinigami-sama…”

Reacting to the presence of more shinigami, Fujimori Michiko pops her head around the _noren_ curtain she was sitting behind in the sake lounge. She had reluctantly agreed to celebrating here because she knew that not many other shinigami would venture this far away from the nicer, upper districts.  Though she has not changed much over the last century, there are a few noticeable differences. She does not yet have the hood that she will later don as a standard part of her uniform. Her face is also much rounder, giving her quite a child-like and youthful appearance. Her large silver eyes are framed by heavy lashes, and a fringe that could probably do with being cut. Her purple hair is long and sleek, and currently sits high atop her head in a bun. 

She quickly identifies that the loud voice that had requested a table belongs to a young looking and well-built male shinigami with the signature haori of the Gotei Thirteen’s captains across his back. His back is currently towards her as he laughs loudly at a joke made by one of the other shinigami in his party.

“Fujimori-sama?”

Without turning around she asks, “Were you saying something, Rika-chan?” she knows that the pet name will make her blush, and she is not disappointed.

“Well, just that I saw the Kuchiki heir for the first time in a while today.” 

She almost spits out her sake, and mischief fills her eyes as she turns to her companion. “Yurika, please don’t tell me that you’re still pining over that noble sod?!” she can’t help but burst into a fit of laughter. 

A very embarrassed Yurika tries shaking her shoulder to get her to calm down, but Michiko falls back and spills out of the curtain—landing right at the sandaled feet of the shinigami captain. With her lowered inhibitions, she continues laughing hysterically. 

He bends to lift the drunk shinigami to her feet, “C’mon, up we go! Steady now, Shinigami-chan.” 

She tries to look at him seriously whilst straightening her kosode, “Captain-kun, were you tryna cop a feel?” her attempt at keeping a straight face fails. “You wanna play with them? Awhh c’mon captain-kun~, let’s have some fun!” 

Michiko’s companion finally emerges from behind the curtain having gathered up everything they had brought with them. The blush on her cheeks rapidly spreads to colour her entire face and neck as she recognises the captain, “My deepest apologies, Captain Shiba-sama! I will be taking Fujimori-sama back to her barracks now.” 

Michiko spins around, “Shiba?! Oi Yurika, are you sure this is someone from the Shiba clan? Aren’t they usually more handsome?” 

Her name triggers a memory, “Fujimori Michiko, is it?” 

She pouts playfully at Yurika for spoiling her fun, “Yurika~, you need to be more careful when you’re dropping my name!” with her hands on her hips she turns to the man. “So, how does Captain Shiba-kun know about little Mikko-chan?” 

“The Kidou Corps sweeps in and takes a well-respected shinigami and capable fighter from the Gotei, and you think no one knows your name?! You were rather briefly assigned to Captain Ukitake before this, right?” 

Her grin widens, “Jyoushi! You know Jyoushi?! He’s great when he isn’t so ill~. Shuushuu is great fun too!”

“Shuushuu…eh, would that be Captain Kyouraku by chance?”

“ _ PINPON~ _ ! Yurika, let’s go find my favourite captains~? I wanna see them again!”

“With all due respect Fujimori-sama,” she blushes furiously. “It is time to return to your quarters. The hour grows late and your hangover will be severe. It is your first day in the Corps tomorrow and you must prove that you belong there, Fujimori-sama!”

***

Over the next nine years, Fujimori Michiko continues to excel in her position within the Kidou Corps. Against all the odds, she quickly becomes the Commander’s first choice as his successor. She realises that she is not well liked among the lower seated officers, and is often underestimated for being the first shinigami to ever be transferred from the Gotei to this section of Seireitei’s military. 

For Michiko, kidou comes as easily as breathing; she easily completes training exercises that keep everyone else occupied for a good portion of the day in less than two hours. On one particular day she had tried slowing down to the pace of the others, but she had still completed the exercises in a quarter of the time that it took the rest of the platoon.  There was only so much kidou that one could safely do in a day, so Michiko would often find herself visiting the various divisions of the Gotei Thirteen and participating in sword fighting practices. Her two favourite Captains, Ukitake and Kyouraku, were always happy to have her visit, and often used her as a source of inspiration for the younger female recruits. They had never mentioned her noble background, and for that she was extremely grateful.

***

Exactly one hundred and seven years ago and late one evening, Michiko idly walks through Seireitei when a series of crashes inside the barracks of a nearby Division snaps her attention back to the present moment. When two of the rank and file division members come crashing out through a window, immediately followed by an outpouring of dense reiatsu, she is far too curious not to investigate.

The scene she stumbles upon is not what she was expecting. The captain looks to be panicking as he desperately tries to hold a screen door closed, whilst simultaneously evacuating his Division, and attempting to put up barriers.

“Captain! What is happening here?” she shouted.

“No no. You get out of here, little lady! Shiba Isshin will handle this!”

“Shiba Isshin is about to be pulled apart by reiatsu if he does not let me past this door!”

“What do you mean ‘get past this door’? You can feel the pressure in there, right?!”

“That is why you need to let me help!” moving closer, she lowers her hood.

“Oh, is that you, Mikko!? Uhh, what would you suggest?”

“There is no time to explain. Put your strongest seals across that door, Isshin. I am heading up to the roof,” she disappears before he can question her any further. On the roof directly over the room in question, Michiko stands with her dual zanpakutou raised over her head. Two incorporeal shapes appear from the blades, and shoot down on either side of the building. In the glow of the moon, it is barely possible to make out the chains that now connect her to the building.

“Ban-kai!  _ Ouryuu no tsubasa to kintora no tsume! Awasero, Inyou Tenshi Ryuuko _ !”  The hilts of the blades come together and meld into one. The shadowy versions of the tiger and dragon fly up and sit atop their respective blades. In a burst of deep purple reiatsu, the transformation is complete. To the onlookers that had gathered, Fujimori Michiko is no more. In her place there is only a large, foreboding mound of shadows pulsing with energy. The mound sprouts wings and a tail before it slowly begins condensing, solidifying, until it once again resembles Michiko. One end of her released state zanpakutou plunges into the shingled roof, and waves of reiatsu shoot upwards. Sweeping her new wings high, the reiatsu is halted. To the curious onlookers, it would look like the ball of energy was simply shrinking away to nothing, but that was not exactly what was happening. 

The bankai transformation slides away from her body, and the chains that had held her to the building snap and fly upwards, wrapping themselves around her bare flesh. As she falls unconscious, Captain Kyouraku Shunsui appears and wraps his pink kimono around her before picking her up. “Ho, boy. That was quite a stunt you just pulled off, Mikko-chan!”

***

It is after midnight when Captain Commander Yamamoto Genryuusei stands in front of the assembled captains. Within the two lines are many familiar faces: Kyouraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jyoushirou, Unohana Retsu, Shihouin Yoruichi, Urahara Kisuke, Kuchiki Ginrei, Shiba Isshin, Hirako Shinji, Outoribashi Rose, Aikawa Love, and Muguruma Kensei. 

“This is an emergency meeting concerning the incident that occurred in the barracks of the Tenth Division. Captain Shiba Isshin, you will now present your report.”

“Yessir. I was instructing a small group of my subordinates in blade meditation techniques. One of the zanpakutou…well, the only way to describe it would be to say that it exploded. Within a matter of moments, all five of the shinigami were unconsciously pumping out reiatsu. I attempted to seal the chamber, whilst also ensuring the safety of my subordinates, but I was only able to properly apply seals to the door after Officer Fujimori Michiko arrived.”

“Sasakibe, has the Kidou officer in question arrived?”

“Yes! Please enter, Fujimori-dono.” 

Michiko knows that she should be feeling fear as she enters the chamber and presents herself to the Captains and the Commander, but she feels strangely calm. Though she had received a new _shihakushou_ , she still wears Kyouraku’s kimono draped over her shoulders.

“You are Fujimori Michiko, current Third Seat Officer of the Kidou corps?”

“Yessir.”

“Rise and present your report of what happened just a few hours ago.”

“Certainly. I was passing close by the Tenth Division’s barracks when I first noticed a large spike in reiatsu. Shinigami were running from the buildings, but I could not determine what the issue was. After I heard windows smashing and saw two young shinigami lying on the ground covered in glass, I decided to investigate and do what I could to help,” after a brief pause with no questions, she continues. “I arrived in the main building to find Captain Shiba braced against one of the doors. The reiatsu that I had felt before was multiplying rapidly, so I requested that Captain Shiba place a seal across the door before I headed back outside.”

“Reports indicate that you released your bankai whilst standing on the roof of the chamber in question. Is this correct, Third Seat Officer Fujimori Michiko.”

“It is, Captain Commander.”

“And what, pray tell, were your reasons for utilising a bankai of that strength! Make your explanation a good one, whelp, or I’ll throw you in front of Central Forty-Six myself!”

“Yessir. The united blade form of  _ Inyou Tenshi Ryuuko _ allows me to boost my innate reiatsu manipulation abilities dramatically. By assuming that form, I was able to contain the reiatsu bomb that was forming inside the chamber. I came to the conclusion to immediately use bankai after determining that any delay to attempt less severe measures would have led to catastrophic damage and many fatalities.”

“If I may interject, Captain Commander. After surveying just some of the damage done to the compound, I do believe that this was the correct choice. As it stands, we have no fatalities among the injured—not even the five shinigami who were at the root of the emergency.”

“I appreciate your contribution, Captain Unohana. However, this does not change the fact that the release of a zanpakutou to bankai is strictly prohibited! The Kidou Corps Commander, Tsukabishi Tessai, has spoken to your talents and your exemplary behaviour since transferring to the Corps just under ten years ago now. Ukitake Jyoushirou, Kyouraku Shunsui: as previous Captains of this girl, what say you?”

“Forgive me Commander, but I must urge you to reconsider! Of all present here, you are surely aware of the nature of the relationships this girl has with the two captains that you have called upon!”

“I am aware. I am also aware of your opinion of the child, Captain Kuchiki. Do not think me blind to such things! You will cease your objections immediately, and the previously called upon captains will provide strictly professional statements.”

“Fujimori-chan was assigned to the Eighth Division upon her graduation. From her very first day, she proved herself to be a formidable shinigami in all areas. She was, and still is, a dedicated and kind shinigami who simply wants to protect as many souls as she can. Yama-jii, whilst her decision to use bankai may have fallen on the wrong side of regulations, I would concur with Captain Unohana that it was the correct choice.”

“I was only Fujimori-san’s superior for a short time before she left for the Kidou Corps, but she continuously strives to achieve greater and greater heights. In the nine years since her transfer, she often visits many of us to partake in training exercises! She truly is an inspiring young shinigami, and I am proud to say that I assisted in her growth. Had it not been for the remarkable power that is contained within her zanpakutou, and her quick thinking, we would certainly be recovering the bodies of many fallen comrades.”

“I will accept these commendations. Would you add to your own defense, girl?”

“If I may, Captain Commander-sama. I would instead present what I believe to be a suitable punishment for my transgression.”

“Hmph! How intriguing. I will indulge you for the moment.”

“Thank-you. I would humbly request to be exiled to one of the many mountains of Soul Society. The Kidou Corps would construct powerful seals to prevent my escape.”

“Explain.”

“Part of the technique I used to negate and contain the reiatsu bomb was the use of kidou chains as vessels for the reiatsu, and those chains now sit across my flesh. I believe that it will take a considerable period of time, in a secluded and contained environment, for this reiatsu to be dissipated safely.”

“Very well. I commend you for your courage in presenting this opinion. I can feel the reiatsu pulsing in these chains that have bound to you, and I agree that exile is the best option. For your continued consideration for the lives of your comrades, I will set the sentence to one hundred years. During this time, you must safely discard the absorbed reiatsu. The Kidou Corps will be instructed to seal you within a cave on the very edge of Seireitei. However, until a suitable location is found, you yourself will be sealed. May the Gotei Thirteen Captains all witness the binding of Fujimori Michiko.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Noren - rectangular, fabric dividers placed over doorways, windows, etc.  
> Yurika (Michiko's companion) is written as 由 [wherefore]; 利 [profit]; 加 [addition]. But the nickname 'Rika' employs kanji characters 李 [plum]; 花 [blossoms]. It's worth mentioning at this point that Michiko's favourite fruit is the japanese plum. Think of that what you will...  
> Pinpon! - 'Exactly!' (onomatopoeia)  
> The big one! The bankai release command translates as the following:  
> 'Wings of the Royal Dragon and Claws of the Golden Tiger! Unite, Cosmic Dual Forces of the Celestial Dragon and Tiger!'  
> Yes, it's a mouthful.  
> Shihakushou - the 'shinigami uniform/kimono'. Consists of a black kosode [upper body piece, tied like a kimono/yukata] and hakama [lower body, can be either skirt or loose trouser style], as well as a white shitagi [undershirt].


	6. Love blooms in Karakura!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long awaited conversation finally occurs, and our mysterious shinigami encounters some familiar faces!

**Present day: Karakura Town [08:30 AM]**

All is quiet at this time in the morning. The yellows and oranges of the morning sky diffuse through the curtains, and the fresh morning breeze sweeps through the opened window. Inoue Orihime is fast asleep. Even after three years, she still often dreams about the time she spent alone with Ichigo during the final showdown in the Spirit King’s palace. Even when asleep, her cheeks flush at the thought of that outfit.   
“I’m a fool,” she mutters. “The sky is so beautiful today, Onii-chan.” As she stares into the distance, there is a knock on her door. “Just a minute!”   
Perhaps she assumes that it is a mail carrier, because she does not hesitate before swinging the door open.   
“Morning.”   
Her mouth goes dry, “Kurosaki…kun?”   
“I know it’s early, but I wondered if we could talk?”   
“Mhm, okay. Uhm, come sit down and I’ll just find some clothes.”   
“Right,” taking off his shoes, he steps inside and closes the door behind him. The photograph of Inoue Sora catches his eye as he paces the main living area, and he remembers how his heart had ached after seeing Orihime with her fate chain dangling from her chest. She was the first person outside of his family that he had saved as a substitute shinigami, he realises with a small smile.   
“Sorry about the mess, I really wasn’t expecting any visitors...Tatsuki-chan knows how messy I am, but I realised just now that Kuro—”   
“Don’t worry about that. It’s my fault, really, for dropping by so suddenly. And so early in the morning.”   
“Has something happened? Your eyebrows have gone all wrinkled.”   
“They have? But no, nothing’s happened. Nothing bad, anyway. At least, I hope you’ll agree that it isn’t anything bad. Do you remember, after Rukia and Renji’s ceremony, I asked if we could make time to talk?”   
“Of course.”   
“He told me, Renji did, that he’d been sitting on all these feelings for Rukia for so many decades and without even realising it at first. With everything that’s happened since she first came here, I guess something similar happened to me. Is this making any sense?”   
“I think…I wouldn’t want to jump to the wrong conclusion, Kurosaki-kun.”   
“Right, of course.”   
“I didn’t even offer you a drink! Maybe I should make some tea?”   
She goes to stand up but Ichigo takes hold of her wrist. “No, I’m fine. Orihime, I can’t wait any longer. Not like Renji did. It’s taken me this long to realise,” with his other hand, he reaches to brush a strand of hair away from her face.   
All she can do is stare. Unable to move, not wanting to move, never wanting to move away. Her heart skips excitedly. As she opens her mouth to say something, anything, he is doing the same.   
He smiles and it glitters in his eyes. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting.”   
Orihime had stopped counting the number of times she had imagined this moment. No matter how many times she had dreamed it, she never thought for a second that it would happen like this. With one hand holding hers, and the other cupped under her hair, he keeps his eyes open until the very last second, as though waiting for her to pull away. Her own eyelids finally flutter shut as their lips make contact. It is a short and tentative kiss, but it confirms the love they have felt for so long. Their lips part and they are both smiling. Ichigo’s forehead is pressed against hers, his fingers still tangled in her hair. The rest of the world melts away as they gaze at each other. Both are reluctant to move away from the other, and it feels like they are finally home.

***

  
At the same time, on the other side of town and in the courtyard of the Urahara Store, a senkaimon opens and a single figure emerges led by a hell butterfly. Jinta and Ururu, who had been sweeping, stop and stare in amazement as a tall figure comes into view. The sugegasa straw hat and the flowing pink kimono makes him instantly recognisable, and Ururu runs into the shop shouting for the owner. Jinta, on the other hand, can only stare wide-eyed at the Captain Commander as the screen doors slide close behind him and disappear.   
“Oh? Good morning, young man. Is Urahara-san here?”   
“Y-yessir.”   
“Come now, I know you’ve seen many shinigami here over the years! So why is it that you seem so afraid?”   
“Uhm. I—”   
“My, my! A true V.I.P has come to visit our humble store. Commander, please step inside. Is your Lieutenant not here also?” he asked, already walking to the small tea room.   
“Nope, just me. Nanao-chan wanted to finish checking those head counts we had done. I’m not sure how useful they’ll be, but she’s always been a stickler for rules and regulations. I only glanced at your report before I came here. You said that you and Ichigo-kun had found the absconding shinigami and established their identity, yet you did not disclose any name.”   
Urahara feigns shock, “Did I not? Well, how about I let them tell you the whole story?” Before Kyouraku can respond, he leaves the small tea room and turns towards the nearby guest sleeping area.   
“Shinigami-san? There is an esteemed visitor for you.”   
Behind the screen doors, Fujimori Michiko has just finished changing back into her shihakushou, and runs her fingers through her hair.   
_It seems that Shuushuu is about as patient as ever, Mikko._   
“Then let’s not keep him waiting,” it is instinct that makes her pull up her hood. As Urahara Kisuke had suggested previously, the hood was layered with an intricate blend of kidou that could disguise, contain, and disperse her reiatsu.   
Leaving the sleeping area, she moves towards the screen doors for the tea room and pauses.   
“Ah, do come in,” prompted Kyouraku. As the door slides to one side, he wonders if his earlier suspicions were correct. The female shinigami enters and drops into a low bow. “Please sit, little shinigami-chan. How about you lower that hood of yours?”   
Following his instructions, she sits at the far side of the low table and lowers her hood. Her face remains shadowed by the thick mass of familiar purple hair, and he can no longer keep the grin from his face. “Mikko-chan?!”   
“I am truly humbled that Commander Kyouraku-sama has remembered me after all this time. I would beg your forgiveness for—” she stops speaking when Kyouraku moves to take her hand, sandwiching it between his own.   
“You can stop with all those formalities for a start! Besides, you don’t need to apologise for anything. It’s been seven years since you were due to emerge from that cave, so it is I who should be apologising to you, Mikko-chan.”   
A tear splashes onto the tabletop as she lifts her head. “But if I had come out sooner, perhaps I could have stopped some of the tragedies! How can you be so happy to see me here, so soon after Jyoushi and Yama-jii?! I was strong enough when everyone fought against the traitors, and I was even stronger by the time the Quincies laid waste to our home! But I couldn’t, the barriers…” her voice trails off as she sees the smile on his face.   
“Yes. The barriers, woven together to be strong enough to maintain their power for that length of time. Specifically designed by the Kidou Corps to respond to your reiatsu, and react accordingly. Even if we had asked for those seals to be broken sooner…well, the Kidou Corps never truly recovered from the losses of Tessai-san and Hachigen-san. Mikko-chan, you’re clearly grieving. Is that why you left?”   
She nods sadly, “When the barriers finally eroded, I noticed so many unfamiliar reiatsu, and I was worried that no one would remember me. I had briefly considered using shunpo to reach you, but when I realised that you were in the First Division Compound, I reluctantly decided that my only option was to come here.”   
“Indeed. Though I don’t doubt that you could have reached my chambers without any of the guards realising…the first act of war by the Quincies was to appear in front of Yama-jii, so perhaps your decision was for the best in light of that. Well, I’m more than satisfied with your reasons, and I certainly won’t be dragging you back to Seireitei. You can come back whenever you’re ready, and I’m sure Urahara-san and Ichigo-kun will finish filling you in on the events of the last century. I appreciate your assistance with this Urahara-san, though I would really appreciate it if you’d keep your knowledge of Mikko-chan’s exile to yourself. In the whole of Seireitei…well, it perhaps goes without saying that so much has happened over the years that I doubt many will remember that particular incident.”   
With Urahara leading the way, the three shinigami exit the small shop. Michiko lingers in the doorway, having sensed a vaguely familiar reiatsu. “Is that…?”   
_Engetsu!_   
Shunsui appears at her shoulder and leans down towards her cheek. “Hm? Were you saying something, Mikko-chan?”   
She hadn’t realised that she had spoken out loud, “Uhm, no—”  
“Urahara! Are you detaining my boy again?!”   
There was no denying who this man was. Former Tenth Division Captain Shiba Isshin. Though he had changed considerably since Michiko had last seen him, his reiatsu was unmistakable. She wonders why he looks so ‘human’ as Urahara speaks with him.  
“Hmm? Sorry, I haven’t seen him since I told him to get some sleep.”   
Kyouraku smiles at Michiko and quickly squeezes her shoulders before moving past Urahara. “Good morning, Isshin! It’s been a while…I was rather surprised when you didn’t make the journey for Rukia-chan’s wedding.”   
Isshin had gone pale. “I didn’t know you were visiting, Captain Commander Kyouraku.”   
He waves a hand dismissively. “That’s neither here nor there,” he pauses to open a senkaimon. “But you’re always welcome to stop by whenever you want. If anyone gives you trouble, just tell ‘em the Commander invited you! Buh-bye for now!”   
As the senkaimon closes behind him, Isshin seems to exhale for the first time since Kyouraku had appeared from behind Urahara.   
“Can I take it that Ichigo didn’t come home?”   
“He did. He told me that you had him accompany you for something, and then went back to his room. When Yuzu-chan called him for breakfast, his bed was empty, and his substitute badge was on his desk.”   
“How very curious indeed,” he turns his head briefly back to the shop. “Well, whilst you’re here, how about you greet an old friend?”   
Realising that Urahara was referring to her, Michiko leaves the relative safety of the shop’s entrance and walks towards the two men. “Captain Shiba, why are you here?”   
“Oh Mikko, you’ve not changed a bit have you? Jeez. I left Seireitei some time ago to marry a human woman—long story. Anyway, I am no longer a Captain, and I took her family name to protect us both from the higher-ups. So, I am now Kurosaki Isshin.”  
“Kurosaki? Is the orange haired boy related to you?”   
“Ichigo is my eldest. You met him last night, right?”   
“Briefly. Urahara-sama explained how he became a substitute shinigami. It did not occur to me that his Zangetsu could be related to your Engetsu.”   
“Hm. I’m guessing your reiatsu tracking skills haven’t slipped whilst you were away?”   
“Of course not. I have already located him; his reiatsu is fluctuating, and it seems he is visiting a human with rather high spiritual power.”   
“Urahara, you smiled. You know who he’s with?”   
“Oh, well I’m not one to gossip! My best guess would be Inoue-san.”   
“Right. Well, I won’t go after him in that case. Do you have a gigai, Mikko?”   
“A what?”   
“I have one prepared. I’ll fetch it while Isshin explains the concept.”   
“A gigai is a false body that we shinigami can use whilst here in the human world. It allows us to interact with humans, whilst not taking away our ability of seeing spirits. We can change between gigai and shinigami quite easily by using these: Soul candies. They put a temporary soul into our gigai, which simultaneously pulls out our shinigami forms. The temporary souls use our ‘human’ bodies so that others don’t notice a sudden absence, or a collapse. The great thing about a gigai is that it’ll take your form. Here’s yours now.”   
“It looks like a doll.”   
Placing the mannequin on the ground next to him, Urahara smiles. “Of course it does! It’s brand new and has never taken the form of a shinigami before. If you pick it up and—”   
Michiko has already taken hold of the strange object and feels herself merge with it. Soon enough, she finds herself standing in a human body and wearing modern clothes. “Oh, you got it! I’m rather glad I decided to dress it…”   
“So, when I need to change back to my soul form, I use one of these green capsules…and when I need to return to this shell?”   
“This glove here will eject the gikon and allow you to reenter the gigai.”   
“Okay, but what now? Humans can see me, I can talk to them, interact with things,” her stomach emits an audible groan. “And feel hunger, it seems.”   
“Exactly. The gigai will allow you to eat anything you like here in the human world; there are many things that they don’t have up there. You’ll probably also tire a lot quicker than you’re used to, as your soul is adjusting to the new form. You are more than welcome to come back here whenever you need to.”   
“Come back…where do I go? I know the lay of the land, but I have no experience or any idea about how to ‘be human’.”   
Isshin puts his hand on her shoulder, “I’ll take you to my home. My girl Yuzu is a great cook, and I’m sure she’ll love introducing you to new foods. It’s not far from here.” There was a look of pride on his face that Michiko recognises from her time as a Seated Officer under Captains Kyouraku and Ukitake.   
“Does she know about any of this?”   
“Nah. Her sister Karin on the other hand, well. I think she at least knows about Ichigo and the general idea of what a shinigami does.”   
Michiko raises her eyebrows, “I never would have imagined you as a father, and now you have three children? Things really have changed,” she turns to Urahara and bows. “Thank-you for everything, Urahara-sama. I guess I will return later.”   
As they leave the courtyard, she reaches for the long sleeves that she no longer has. “He’s rather…eccentric.”   
“Hah! That’s putting it lightly. He’s helped us out a lot, and some of the things he’s done wouldn’t have been considered ‘good’ by Central Forty-Six or even our fellow shinigami. Did he tell you much?”   
“Mhm. He said that both he and Tsukabishi-sama were sentenced after several shinigami were subjected to hollowfication experiments by Aizen Sousuke. They escaped with that group to stop them all from being killed as hollows,” she stops to put her hands on her hips, breathing heavily already. “By the gods this body is stiff! Anyway, that was just a few months after I was sent away, right? When did you leave?”   
“It’s been twenty-something years now. I hadn’t planned it, but I came to try and find the human woman who had saved me the previous evening. I’d lied on my report for old Yamamoto, because Masaki told me that she was a quincy. When I got here, she’d collapsed and the trademark hollow hole had already formed in her chest. That’s when Urahara appeared and said that there was a way to save her. What he told us meant that she would essentially lose her quincy powers, and I sacrificed my shinigami powers to keep that hollow at bay. We got married, and then Ichigo came along. I couldn’t sense it back then, but the hollow soul that was in Masaki had transferred to him.   
“When he was nine, and Yuzu and Karin were four…that was when Yhwach awoke and stripped most of the ‘mixed blood’ Quincy of their strength. That included Masaki, who was trying to fend off a hollow called Grand Fisher to protect Ichigo at the same time. Ichigo…he always blamed himself for her death, and at the time I couldn’t tell him anything about what had actually happened. My shinigami powers finally came back after he lost control of the hollow soul within him—that was always the deal.”   
“Were you always this talkative?”

***

Isshin opens the front door to his family's home and doesn't even have chance to announce his return when they hear a voice from inside.  
“Ah, _okaeri_! Onii-chan, is that you?!”   
“Yuzu-chan, why don’t you get excited when I come home? Here’s some slippers.” Isshin moves through the house quickly having heard a phone ringing, leaving Michiko in the entryway to change into the house slippers.   
Yuzu appears at the corner, “Oh, hello.”   
“Hello, I’m Fujimori Michiko. I’m an old friend of your father’s.”   
“So nice to meet you! My name’s Yuzu. So, how do you know Dad?” She asked.   
Michiko enters the main living space, and the first thing she notices is the poster of a smiling woman with the same orange hair as Ichigo. She knows that she has to choose her words carefully. “We worked together for a little while before he moved here.”  
Yuzu had walked into the kitchen area and started opening cupboards and then the fridge, seemingly lost in thought. Just then, the front door opens once more and Yuzu spins around, hoping perhaps to hear Ichigo finally returning.   
“I’m home,” it was a second female voice, but Yuzu doesn’t let her disappointment show as she moves back to the entryway.   
“Karin-chan, Dad brought a friend home! I’m gonna go to the store and get some things for lunch.”   
“Hello? Oh.”   
Michiko smiles, “You must be Karin. My name is Fujimori Michiko.” As the young girl moves closer, Michiko hears an unsettling sound from her soul.   
“You’re, uhm,” she stops and shakes her head, reconsidering what to say. “Where’s Dad?”   
“I think he went upstairs,” Karin had turned visibly pale and Michiko thinks she knows why, but she needs to be sure. “Are you feeling okay?” She moves to sit on the sofa, and pats the cushion next to her for Karin to sit.   
She moves to sit down but she is still visibly uncomfortable. “Mhm, yeah…”   
Michiko can’t understand the sensation she gets from the human girl’s soul; it is strangely dissimilar to what she had felt from the rest of the family. In order to confirm her suspicions, she would have to somehow break through the girl’s physical barriers and make contact with her. Even a single finger on her wrist could settle the unease that she feels. She silently curses her complete lack of experience with humans before turning to face Karin with a smile.   
“I can tell you want to ask me something. It’s okay if you do.”   
She takes a deep breath. “Right. So if I’m wrong I’m gonna sound crazy, but I don’t think I am wrong. I can see ghosts and the monsters that eat them…hollows. Ichi-nii is a shinigami, and I’m feeling the same kinda aura from you,” the words had tumbled from her mouth.   
“Well it wasn’t a question, but you are right. I just came from Soul Society last night.”   
Her eyes widened, perhaps in reaction to her honesty. “Do you know my brother?”   
Michiko nods. "I met Ichigo last night,” she clarified.   
“So, did you know Dad from there?”   
She chuckles lightly and nods again. “He was not sure if you knew that about him.”   
Her questions kept coming. “Yuzu could see you, so you’re in one of those weird bodies, right?”   
“You are rather well informed! Apparently it is called a gigai, but it is not exactly the easiest thing to use.”   
“Toushirou always seemed comfortable in his…”   
It was a name she wasn't familiar with. “Toushirou?” she prompted.   
She nods and tries to stop the colour rising to her cheeks. “Hitsugaya Toushirou. I think he’s a captain, but he looks like he should be in grade school! He came here a few times with one of those gigai things.”   
They continue talking about Soul Society and Seireitei for a while longer before they hear footsteps on the staircase. Isshin emerges looking momentarily distracted before noticing Michiko and Karin on the sofa. “Well then! You two seem to be getting along rather well.”   
“Sure. Fujimori-san’s been telling me all about Seireitei!”   
“I see, I see. So you did figure it out after all. I never knew how to address it.”   
“I get it. Fujimori-san told me a little bit about how we grew up thinking you couldn’t see ghosts and stuff like that.”   
Michiko blushes, “I didn't go into too many details, Isshin. I hope you don’t mind.”   
“Well, I guess it was all gonna come out anyway. Say, Michiko…would you mind maybe doing a patrol?”   
Michiko nods and stands up from the sofa, smiling as an idea occurs to her. “Karin, would you help me out a second?” Retrieving the red glove from a pocket in her shorts, she extends it to Karin. “Put this glove on, and push your palm into my chest right here.”   
After shooting a confused look at her father, Karin stands in front of the strange shinigami, “Okay, here goes nothing…”   
She closes her eyes as her shinigami form is pushed from the gigai, disguising the fear on her face by smiling, “Perfect! I will return in about an hour.”

***

Michiko uses shunpo to quickly distance herself from the house, and lands back at the top of the bridge’s tower where she had rested the previous night. The unease she had felt in the human girl’s soul had only magnified when she had returned to her shinigami form. If she had lingered for even a moment longer, the consequences would have been irreversible. A comforting and familiar presence enters her mind.   
_Mikko. If she is not extremely cautious, the power of the shinigami in her soul could soon destroy her human body._   
“If that is already the case, then applying any level of soul-shielding kidou would only accelerate that destruction.”   
_I am afraid it could be even more dire than that. If she were to confront even a small hollow at any point in the near future…_   
She winces at the scenario left unspoken. “Damn. _Kaijyou_!.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- The conversation with Renji that Ichigo mentions occurs in the light novel 'We do Knot always love you' written by Matsubara Makoto.   
> Senkaimon: the world-connecting gate used by shinigami. Usually appears as a circular shouji screen door, except for that one time in the Fullbringer Arc...  
> Sugegasa: Woven from a special grass called 'sedge', which incidentally translates as 'suge' in Japanese. 'kasa' is a word specifically for conical/umbrella shaped things, including hats.  
> Okaeri: shortened form of 'okaerinasai', often translated as 'welcome back/welcome home'  
> Kaijyou: command word used to unlock/open a senkaimon, among other things.


	7. A brief return to Seireitei!

**Seireitei**

**[09:30 AM]**

Michiko runs the whole way through the tunnel and plans on using shunpo as soon as she emerges on the other side. Instead, she finds her path to be blocked by the strange pronged weapons of Seireitei’s guards. Four guards had quickly moved into position to flank her on all sides, her neck fully encircled by the overlapping steel prongs. She could not escape even if she wanted to. She sighs and stares at the large frame of the guard in front of her.

He glares at her down the shaft of his weapon. “Identify yourself, shinigami-sama!”

“I am Fujimori Michiko, and I would request an urgent meeting with Captain Commander Kyouraku Shunsui.”

The man nods at a fifth guard lurking behind the group. “Send the request! Who is your Captain, Fujimori-sama?”

“I was assigned to solitary training some one hundred years ago, and the guard has changed many times since then. At that time I was the Third Seat Officer of the Kidou Corps under Commander Tsukabishi Tessai.”

A sixth shinigami, this time dressed in the red uniform of the communications corps, appears next to the large guard in front of her. “Reporting in! Meeting request has been accepted. Fujimori-sama is to report immediately to the Captain Commander’s chamber.”

She smiles as the prongs around her neck loosen. “Well, that was quick. I’ll be on my way now then,” without waiting for the guards to lower their weapons any further, she disappears into shunpo. But instead of bounding straight onto the balcony attached to the Commander’s office, Michiko alters her trajectory so that she instead lands at the main gates of the First Division’s Compound. She wonders briefly if the guards had been forewarned of her speed, because the gates are already opening for her admittance as she appears. Without hesitating, she rushes towards the room where the Commander would be waiting for her. Upon reaching the inner doors, she remembers the last time she had walked through them. Subconsciously, she reaches for the chains that are still embedded in her flesh, and feels the prickling of tears in her eyes. Taking a breath, she prostrates herself in front of the doors and announces her arrival. Regardless of her past with Kyouraku Shunsui, she knows that outward appearances sometimes have to be maintained. 

The doors creak open and reveal a female shinigami. “Welcome,” she says, moving to one side and allowing Michiko to enter the long chamber. She heaves a sigh of relief, realising that no other captains were present. 

At the back of the chamber, Kyouraku rises from his desk and smiles widely, gesturing for her to approach. “Mikko-chan, what brings you here so soon?”

“Without wanting to sound overly dramatic, we have a problem.” 

His smile vanishes. He sits down once more and steeples his fingers before prompting her to elaborate with a nod.

She takes a deep breath and launches into her summary. “The younger sister of Kurosaki Ichigo, Karin, possesses a soul of a similar strength to her brother’s. While I was speaking with her, Ryuuko was able to communicate with her soul, and this is where the problem lies. They informed me that her soul could destroy her human body very soon. If she were to be confronted by even a small size hollow, her soul would be ripped from her body.”

“What about some kind of kidou shielding?”

“Attempting any level of soul binding kidou to the girl at this stage,” she shakes her head with a grimace. “I am afraid that it would only hasten the destruction.”

“Does Isshin know?”

“No. When I left, he was about to explain to Karin the full story of her lineage.”

“What is it that has made her soul so volatile? Is it because she is regularly in the presence of two rather significant reiatsu?”

“That may be part of the cause, but the largest contributor is likely the Quincy blood she inherited from her mother.”

“Their mother is a Quincy?! Please, continue.”

“Yes. Kurosaki Masaki was born a pureblood Quincy. She saved Isshin from the black hollow, but was somehow infected by it. After returning to the human world to find her, Isshin discovered that she would become a hollow. Urahara-sama intervened, and helped Isshin save her life. The cost was his shinigami powers. Masaki later died protecting a nine year old Ichigo from the Grand Fisher.”

“Well that answers quite a few questions about Ichigo-kun’s strength; shinigami, quincy, and hollow soul components. But his sister did not inherit any of the hollow?”

“No. It appears that the hollow transferred entirely into Ichigo.”

“Boy, what a headache. Nanao-chan, we need Kurotsuchi here urgently.”

“Yessir.”

Noticing Michiko’s raised eyebrow, he explains. “Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri took over from Urahara as Twelfth Division Captain and head of the Research and Development Institute. We’ll have to be careful in our approach, as he is known to be rather fond of ‘experimenting’ on unusual souls.”

***

“Captain Kurotsuchi reporting in.”

“Please come in.” 

As soon as the doors open to admit the Captain, Ryuuko begins communicating with his zanpakutou. The conversation is as brief as it is troubling. “Commander Kyouraku. Oh, and who might this be?” Michiko feels her skin crawl as the strange Captain examines her, but she does not look at him. 

“Kurotsuchi-san, this is Fujimori Michiko. She was the unidentified shinigami who used the senkaimon last night.” 

“Hm. Interesting…is that why I was summoned?” he looks ready to leave the room.

Kyouraku raises his hand to stop him, “Not exactly. Mikko-chan discovered an unusual soul in Karakura town. If left alone, it’s very likely that the human body will be destroyed.” 

His attention goes back to her, “Ho! An unusual soul…and how exactly did you reach this conclusion, Fujimori Michiko?”

She focuses on a spot on the wall behind Kyouraku’s desk. “Commander Kyouraku-sama informed me just now that you would be more interested in experimenting on the soul in question, rather than preventing the tragedy that will occur if any more strain is placed onto this human. Your zanpakutou, Ashisogi Jizou, seems to agree with this sentiment. Therefore, I do not feel comfortable sharing my findings.” 

Kyouraku has to quickly cover his smiling mouth with a hand. He had forgotten how tenacious and fearless she could be. 

Captain Kurotsuchi, on the other hand, is not amused and steps into her personal space. “I do not know who you think you are, but I will not be spoken to in that manner!” 

“I am Fujimori Michiko, former Third Seat Officer of the Kidou Corps under Commander-in-Chief Tsukabishi Tessai, and I was also set to be his successor. I will not be threatened by you, Kurotsuchi Mayuri.” 

“Now, now, let’s calm down, shall we? I know I may not be as imposing as Yama-jii was, but this is no way to conduct ourselves, hm?” 

“Commander, in order to assist in this situation I require details! Data! What exactly makes this soul so unusual? What ‘tragedy’ does this shinigami, whom I have never seen or even heard of, think will occur?!”

He sighs and draws her attention to him. “Mikko-chan, please indulge him.”

Maintaining eye contact with her old friend, she explains. “The soul in question is that of Kurosaki Ichigo’s younger sister. Alongside her inherited shinigami powers from former captain Shiba Isshin, she has also inherited Quincy powers from her mother. The tragedy that I alluded to would be the complete decimation of her human vessel, and the subsequent unleashing of the built-up  _ reiryoku _ in her soul. And that would almost certainly affect many other souls in the town, as well as attract multiple hollows to her location, potentially resulting in a mass loss of life. Is that enough data for you, Kurotsuchi Mayuri?” 

“Hmph. I would have to concur with these conclusions, and suggest the immediate ejection of her soul in a contained environment, after which she would have to either unlock her innate shinigami powers or be sent here to Soul Society. As fascinating as those experiments may be, I already have samples of Ichigo’s reiatsu and blood which would satisfy my curiosity for the time being. If that is all, I have work to do,” he doesn’t wait to be dismissed before turning on his heels and striding to the door.  
As the door closes behind him, Shunsui allows the smile that he had been containing to show on his face. But upon noticing the concern on Michiko’s face, he moves to stand next to her and places a hand on her shoulder. “Mikko-chan. It’s a terrible situation, but we do have to act rather quickly, yes?” 

She drops her head into a single nod, “I would have to suggest starting immediately. Urahara has an expansive space under his store that would be suitable. However, if Karin does choose to become a shinigami, both my Ryuuko and Urahara’s Benihime are less than ideal for the transitional training process. Her brother’s Zangetsu and father’s Engetsu would also be inappropriate, and even if they were suitable…I doubt they would be comfortable in this situation. Karin is familiar with Hitsugaya Toushirou and Matsumoto Rangiku, so perhaps one of them would be willing to help?”

“Toushirou-kun and Rangiku-san are also both rather powerful, but I agree with your conclusion nonetheless. Nanao-chan, could you please bring Toushirou-kun here urgently? For now, let’s discuss the details with Urahara-san.”

***

Establishing the link to Urahara’s shop in the human world doesn’t take long, and this time the man on the other end recognises the call’s origin as he picks up. “ _ My my, Commander! Two calls in such a short time frame. I am curious _ .”

“It is a matter of urgency that Kurosaki Karin be presented with the following ultimatum. Become a substitute shinigami like her brother, or be sent to Soul Society as a plus. Mikko-chan discovered that her soul is under immense strain, and beyond the point of shielding. I’ll be sending Mikko-chan back to you shortly, so could you please make arrangements with Isshin? We believe that your subterranean space will be ideal for this situation.”

“ _ Of course. I do apologise for not noticing the problem sooner. What about little Yuzu? _ ”

Michiko steps forward to speak into the mouthpiece. “Yuzu is still unable to see spirits. Her soul is not at risk currently.”

“ _ I’ll go to the Kurosaki residence now _ .” The connection drops almost immediately. 

Ise Nanao reappears in the chamber looking slightly dishevelled. “Commander, Captain Hitsugaya has just arrived at the doors.”

“Perfect timing! Please come in, Toushirou-kun,” he waits for the young captain to enter the room, offering a smile before explaining. “Time is short for the situation we have found ourselves in. This is Fujimori Michiko, and I would like you to go with her to Karakura Town very shortly. You’ve met Ichigo-kun’s younger sister Karin, and are aware of her spiritual power, yes? Well, her soul is in imminent danger of destroying her human body. She is presently being told of her situation, and asked to choose between becoming a substitute shinigami like her brother, or receiving a soul burial and coming here to the Society. Should she choose the path of her brother, we have concluded that you may be the best candidate for initiating her transition from soul to shinigami. Please depart immediately. I’ll have Nanao-chan explain your sudden absence to Rangiku-san, and I’m sure Mikko-chan here will fill you in on any further details you may want. Good luck!”

The two shinigami take off at a run from the Captain Commander’s chambers deep inside Seireitei, and head immediately for the Senkaimon. Michiko knows that she can reach the world gate in a single leap, but she also knows that the white haired captain will have questions.

He launches his interrogation almost immediately. “Fujimori Michiko, who exactly are you?” 

She recalls the narrative that Kyouraku had suggested, “I was assigned to the Kidou Corps around one hundred and sixteen years ago. In less than ten years, I was chosen as Tessai-sama’s successor and placed into solitary training. My training term concluded yesterday after one hundred and seven years. Commander Kyouraku-sama would not allow me to apologise for being unable to assist in any of the recent conflicts,” she can’t tell if he truly believes the story, but she respects her old captain and friend enough to stick to it. 

“I see. So were you the unknown entity that used the senkaimon last night?” His facial expression gives no hint as to how much he believes, but Ryuuko reports that Hyourinmaru at least is intrigued by her and her strength.

“Yes. When I emerged from my training place, I noted that many of the reiatsu I searched for had vanished. To be honest, I felt true fear for the first time in that moment.” 

His icy-blue eyes melt at the edges, “That’s understandable. Kyouraku is now the last of the Captains that you would have known from before moving to the Corps, right?” 

She feels her throat close as waves of grief try to drown her, “Exactly. His Eighth Division was my first assignment when I graduated, and I later joined the Thirteenth Division. Whilst I was a Seated Officer with both of those divisions, I felt compelled to transfer to the Kidou Corps when given the opportunity.” 

Finally, the pair arrive at the large ornate senkaimon in the centre of Seireitei and the Kidou Corps officers immediately spring into action. “Assigning two  _ jigokuchou _ for Captain Hitsugaya and Fujimori-sama! Activating the limiter! Opening the senkaimon, the destination is set to Karakura Town!”  As they step through the opening gate, Michiko fights against the urge to once again raise her hood. With two hell butterflies guiding the way, they slow to a walk.

“Karakura Town…the last time I was there was close to four years ago now. Before that, it had felt almost like a second home. Even after spending extended periods of time there, I never once saw Isshin. It was only after we defeated Yhwach and his followers that we learned the true identity of Kurosaki Ichigo’s father.” 

“Ichigo-san’s reiatsu signature is very different to his father’s. Even if they stood next to each other, I doubt I would have realised.” 

“Regardless, I’m now very glad that I never had to cross blades with Ichigo. We never understood how a substitute shinigami could be so powerful. Does he know what’s happening?”

“I do not believe so. I met him along with Urahara-sama just after I arrived there last night, so I can easily locate him from his reiatsu.” 

“If you can, you may want to also find a human girl by the name Inoue Orihime. She has some abilities that could be very useful.  _ Kaijyou _ !” 

As the screen door opens, she wonders what abilities a human could possess that would be beneficial to their current task. She quickly tracks Ichigo’s reiatsu, finding him to be exactly where he had been earlier. At Urahara’s shop she finds the signatures of Isshin and Karin. She turns to Toushirou, “I can confirm that Urahara-sama has successfully brought both Karin and Isshin to the underground training space.”  With a quick exchange of nods, they both use shunpo to reach their destinations.

***

It takes her a single moment to arrive at her first destination. Standing in the air above Inoue’s apartment building, Michiko allows her reiatsu to be detectable and waits for the substitute shinigami to emerge.  Inside the apartment, Orihime and Ichigo notice her presence at the same time. He sighs deeply against her forehead before standing up from the floor.

“Ichigo?” asked Orihime, also getting to her feet.

He walks to the door as he responds. “Yeah, it’s the shinigami I mentioned earlier. No idea why she had to turn up here,” he can’t hide his frustration as he opens the door and spots her. He tries waving at her to bring her down, but she was staring off into the distance and clearly not fully aware of her surroundings. With her strange hood down for the first time, Ichigo is rather surprised at how young she looks, with her short shaggy hair almost the same shade of purple as her reiatsu had been the night before. “Oi! Down here.” 

Hiding her shock at his brash tone, she glides down onto the railing across from where Ichigo stands. Without waiting, he turns around and walks back inside.  “Hello again, Kurosaki-san. My apologies for arriving here so suddenly, but I am afraid that it is rather urgent,” stepping into the apartment, she sees the young woman. “Oh, hello.”

_ Mikko, this human is…interesting. _

“Nice to meet you, I’m Inoue Orihime.” 

“Why are you here, Michiko?” 

_ This tension…we interrupted summat real special here, Mikko~! _

After silencing the voices in her mind, she takes a deep breath. “This concerns your sister Karin. To summarise, her soul has become rather volatile, and there is a high probability of her human form being destroyed. I went straight to the Commander when I discovered this, and after consulting with the scientist Mayuri, we concluded that the best course of action would be to present Karin with the option of becoming a substitute shinigami like you.” Ichigo looks ready to yell, but she raises a hand to show that she isn’t finished. “The method will be slightly different, so that we are not breaking any laws, but the underlying principles will be the same. Captain Hitsugaya joined me at the Commander’s request, as he has previously interacted with Karin in his shinigami form. He also seems to be our best option for Karin’s introductory training.”

“Your ‘best option’?! Toushirou is a captain!” 

She simply looks at Ichigo until he calms down. She had not flinched at his tone, or even blinked. After a stretch of silence, he takes a step back away from her. Moving back to his side, Michiko sees Orihime gently take his hand in hers.  “I am well aware of Hitsugaya Toushirou’s rank. However, this conclusion still stands in light of the alternatives. Urahara’s Benihime, my Ryuuko, your Zangetsu, and your father’s Engetsu are all rather unsuitable for such a delicate process,” she pauses briefly to wait for Ichigo’s reaction, but he continues to stare at her. “Right now, your father and Karin are in the underground training space at Urahara’s shop, and Captain Hitsugaya also went straight there. I said that I would find you and make you aware of the situation,” she shifts her attention towards the woman. “And also locate you, Inoue Orihime, at his request, due to your unique abilities.” 

The frustration slowly lifts from Ichigo’s face as he finishes processing the information. Slowly, he unclenches his fists and squeezes Orihime’s fingers - a silent thank you for keeping him grounded. “Right. If you wouldn’t mind, please shunpo with Orihime to Urahara’s,” he turns to Orihime. “I didn’t bring my badge or Kon, so I’ll run there like this. I’ll see you there,” without allowing himself to hesitate, Ichigo runs from the apartment. Even in his human body, he has the strength and endurance required to reach the shop without difficulty. The tension leaves the apartment with him, and Michiko smiles at the young woman with strange abilities. 

Orihime blushes as she notices the shinigami looking at her and lifts a hand to her hair, quickly noticing how tangled it had become. She smiles briefly before turning towards the washroom. Noticing that Michiko was keeping her distance, she gestures for her to come further into the space before opening the door to her bathroom. Michiko smiles once more and steps forward until she can lean against the wall opposite the washroom. 

She closes the door behind her but doesn’t allow for the silence to stretch out any longer, “What a terrible situation…poor Karin-chan. What about Yuzu-chan?” 

“Yuzu’s  _ reiryoku _ is currently a lot lower than both Karin’s and Ichigo’s.” 

The bathroom door opens and Orihime emerges. Most of the flush that was in her cheeks had faded, and it was clear that she feels better now that she has brushed her hair.  “I’ve never experienced shunpo…” 

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I can cover the distance in a single step.” 

The look on Orihime’s face shifts between shock and fear before she nods meekly.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jigokuchou - lit. hell butterfly. These cute little flutterers do everything from escorting souls through the senkaimon to delivering messages all over Seireitei!  
> Kaijyou - unlock/open. Command word for opening senkaimon.  
> Reiryoku - spiritual power/strength. Humans with high levels of this are those who can see hollows, ghosts, and shinigami.
> 
> *A note about prostration, because it'll crop up more!* The humble prostration is a series of postures that are used to show respect. Recall, for example, when Rukia and Renji escort Ichigo to the Commander's chamber to reclaim Ginjyo's body. Instead of dismissing the two lieutenants from the room, Yamamoto tells them to 'assume the lowest position', or something along those lines.


	8. The mission begins!

**Basement of The Urahara Store.  
  
[09:50]**

Near the centre of the training space Isshin sits with Karin, who has already been ejected from her human body, and now wears the white kimono typical of souls that are ejected in this way. The chain of fate has been cut, but the erosion process thankfully hasn’t started yet. He hopes that she can complete her transition before it starts, because seeing her like this was stirring up emotions unlike anything he has felt before.

“Dad? I’m scared.” 

He smiles to himself briefly as he realises that this was the first time Karin had allowed herself to be so vulnerable since the death of Masaki. “I know, I am too. Honestly, I’m glad Michiko arrived when she did,” gently placing an arm around her shoulder, she allows him to pull her into a hug. They remain like this for a few minutes before Isshin notices a familiar reiatsu approaching. “Ah, someone’s here.”

“Hm? Who?”

“If I’m not mistaken, Hitsugaya Toushirou. This could get awkward, Karin-chan. Toushirou was one of my best officers, and the Captaincy fell to him after I left.”

He appears in front of them all too suddenly. “Toushirou, why are you here?” asks Karin.  


After sitting down, he looks at his old Captain. “Isshin, would you mind giving us a minute?” 

Looking to Karin for confirmation, Isshin stands and walks away. Toushirou sighs as he looks back to Karin. “Karin, I’m here to help. Not because the Commander ordered me to, or because of who your brother and father are, but because I know you. You don’t deserve any of what’s happening right now, and I know I would be scared if it was me in your position right now. Hell, I’m honestly a little scared for you right now,” he pauses briefly. “The shinigami you met earlier, Fujimori, has gone to let your brother know what’s happening. I also asked her to find Inoue Orihime and bring her here.”

Confusion crosses Karin’s face. “Why Orihime-chan?” 

“She has some really powerful abilities that allow her to heal and protect herself and others. I’ve experienced the healing myself, and our previous healing division captain said it’s very comparable to how they heal injuries.” 

The expression on Karin’s face is a mix of amazement at Orihime’s apparent abilities, and concern that the Shinigami have an entire division for healing. 

“Anyway, try not to worry too much. Hopefully everyone will be here soon.” 

They sit in silence for a while before Ichigo appears at the bottom of the ladder. He pauses slightly when he sees Karin in the white kimono, remembering when Urahara had done the same for him after he’d woken up following Byakuya’s attack. As he jogs over to them, Michiko arrives with an arm around Orihime’s waist.

“Ichi-nii! Thanks, Toushirou.”

He gets to his feet, moving away from the family group to give them time to process the unfolding situation. “No problem. Fujimori, over here a minute,” when Michiko joins him, he finally draws his eyes away from Karin. “You found them both rather quickly.”

Folding her arms over her chest, she grins slightly as she looks back over her shoulder towards Ichigo and Orihime. “Indeed. Turns out they were already together at Inoue’s place. I do not think he appreciated my arrival until I explained the situation!” she has a mischievous glimmer in her eyes when she turns back to Toushirou, who looks rather perplexed.   
  
“How do you mean?” 

Michiko leans in towards the shorter Captain’s ear, “Well, I won’t jump to any conclusions, but the girl was rather flushed when I got there.” A sly grin spreads across her face as Urahara appears nearby.

“If everyone could gather, please,” he pauses briefly to allow Toushirou and Michiko to rejoin the group. “Tessai-san is currently reinforcing some barriers we have aboveground, so that we don’t have to worry about attracting any unwanted attention. Fujimori-san, if you wouldn’t mind, could you work on some barriers down here?” 

Michiko smiles as she senses the barriers that her old sensei was constructing aboveground. They were rather basic compared to those that had been constructed to seal her inside the mountain cave all those years ago. With her arms still crossed over her chest she calls for the spirits of her zanpakutou. “Come on out, Ryuuko. We have work to do,” she walks away, the purple mist swirling out of her sleeves once more to form the bodies of a Dragon and Tiger. Isshin grins, Ichigo rolls his eyes, and Toushirou is momentarily surprised before his attention is drawn back to the conversation.

“Now then. Captain Hitsugaya, Karin-san, I would speak to you more about how we will be proceeding.” 

Karin hesitates and glances back at her dad and brother’s smiling faces before following the two shinigami. After she walks away, Ichigo leaves Orihime’s side and steps closer to their dad. “Dad, does Karin know everything now?”

“Yep. She’d already guessed about me, and she found out about you a while ago now. I told her a little more about her mother, but she doesn’t really understand what I told her about the Quincies. She had surprisingly fewer questions than I thought she would.”

Ichigo is surprised that Karin had picked up on their dad’s history as a Shinigami when he himself had no idea until the old man had appeared in front of him wearing the shihakushou and haori during the conflict with Aizen. Moving past his surprise, he sees Michiko quickly flashing around the perimeter of the large space. She moves with exceptional speed, seemingly reaching each corner in a single step. 

He gives up trying to follow her with a shake of his head. “Did you know Michiko from before?” When he turns back, he sees a fond and almost paternal look on Isshin’s face.

“Sure did! She’d just transferred to the Kidou Corps when I was promoted to Captain. We ended up in the same sake lounge to celebrate our promotions. She was strong back then, but now? Same with Toushirou-kun. I feel so old~.”

Ichigo rolls his eyes at the childlike pout that Isshin had adopted. “Yeah yeah. You’re still young compared to Kyouraku-san though, right?”

He winces as he recalls his earlier encounter. “I came here earlier wondering if Urahara had called you back to help with something else, only to see the Commander and little Michiko as they walked out of the shop,” shaking his head slightly, he turns to look at Ichigo. “Listen, I know you went to see Orihime earlier.”

“Did you have a tracker put in me somewhere?!” 

“Ichigo, you don’t have to tell me anything, but as old as I feel right now with these faces from my past, I'm not ready for grandkids!” 

“Michiko said that Yuzu's safe, right?” he asks, desperate to change the subject.

“At least for the time being. Oh, I left a note for her at home so she should hopefully be showing up here soon.” 

“How much are you gonna tell her?” 

He shrugs. “Well, she at least acknowledges that spirits exist, so I’m hoping that the existence of Shinigami isn’t too hard for her to comprehend. She’s a smart girl.” 

Ichigo begins wondering how Yuzu would respond to everything that was happening. Unlike Karin, Yuzu has no idea about either Isshin’s or Ichigo’s secret lives as Shinigami.

After a few moments, a young girl with dark hair walks towards the two men. “Uhm, excuse me? Yuzu-chan has just arrived upstairs.”

A nervous expression passes over Isshin’s face. “Okay, thanks. Ichigo?” 

Glancing back towards Karin and Orihime, Ichigo shakes his head. “I think I’ll stay down here. Good luck, pops.”

***


	9. An announcement is made!

**Seireitei  
[10:00 AM]**

In the three years since his promotion to Captain Commander, Kyouraku had begun inviting the Lieutenants to once again attend the Captain’s meetings as they had done until about a hundred years ago. After his own Lieutenant announces that everyone has gathered in the main chamber, Shunsui has to take a moment to gather his thoughts.

He moves to stand in front of the two lines of faces. “Toushirou-kun has just left for a mission in the human world, and it’s for the same situation that you’ve all been asked here,” he glances down the two lines in front of him, pausing on a few faces in particular as he considers once more how much he should share. “Last night, you were all made aware of an unauthorised usage of the senkaimon. Lieutenant Akon of the Twelfth Division informed me that the exit point was Karakura town, so I asked Urahara-san to investigate. About two hours later, the absconder was identified as Fujimori Michiko. She’s been away from Seireitei for a really long time, so don’t worry if you don’t recognise the name!

“As we all know, the identity of our young substitute’s father was revealed to be Toushirou-kun’s predecessor Shiba Isshin. Ichigo-kun also has two younger sisters, and one of them concerned Mikko-chan so much that she travelled here to explain the issue she had found; a volatile soul within the human body, that even a small size hollow could push over the edge and cause the destruction of her human form. After consulting with Captain Kurotsuchi, it was determined that young Karin would be presented with the option of becoming a substitute shinigami. After realising that none of the zanpakutou currently in the real world would be suitable, I sent Toushirou-kun back with Mikko-chan to Karakura Town. I have just received word that Karin has accepted the situation and begun her transitional training.” 

From the far end of the line, Kuchiki Rukia steps forward to speak. “If I may, Captain Commander. Is Yuzu-chan also at risk?” 

“Mikko-chan is currently not concerned about little Yuzu. Should that change in the future, I’m sure Isshin will ask her to apply soul-guarding kidou to the young girl’s body. So, that’s the situation as it stands. Thank-you all for coming, dismissed.”

As the captains and lieutenants begin filing from the room, Rukia finds herself frozen in place. Her thoughts drift back to the previous month, when the Commander had arrived at the bar where everyone had been celebrating the marriage ceremony between Renji and herself. After taking her outside, Kyouraku had presented her with a captain’s haori that Ukitake had arranged for her to receive. In the three years since Captain Ukitake’s sacrifice, Rukia had been expecting the announcement of someone coming in to take over as Captain…but that had never happened. Ukitake had wanted her to be the next Captain, regardless of the fact that when he had made that decision, she had not yet acquired her bankai. Just as she is thinking of approaching the Commander once more to formally accept the promotion, she is dragged from her thoughts by a large hand on her shoulder. 

“If ya don’t start moving those feet I’m gonna be forced to carry ya!”

She swats his hand away from her shoulder and starts walking away at a brisk pace. Without turning back to her husband she shouts, “Fool. As if I would let you!”

With his longer stride, he quickly catches up to her and laughs as he drapes an arm around her neck. “C’mon then, what was it that had your feet stuck to the floor?”

She would normally object to his public displays of affection, but today she welcomes it and leans into his chest. “It’s Karin-chan. I’ve not seen her for a while, and now she’s suddenly becoming a substitute like Ichigo. Whoever this Fujimori Michiko individual is, we should be glad that she was able to detect the issue...”

“But? We ‘should’ be glad, so what’s holding you back?”

“After everything that’s happened, how is it that she has remained unknown?”

“Beats me. I guess we’ll only find out when she comes back from Karakura Town.”

***

Kyouraku Shunsui had been reminiscing in the hour that had passed since the meeting where he had briefly announced the return of Fujimori Michiko. Deep in his thoughts, he is startled by a knock on the door.

“Kuchiki Byakuya requesting entry.”

Kyouraku smiles as he stands up from the desk. “Please come in, Captain Kuchiki. I wondered if I would have you back here,” before sitting back down, he gestures for the captain to close the door behind him. After several long strides, Byakuya stands at the other side of the desk. Kyouraku makes a mental note to request for more chairs to be brought into the room. From the look on his face, Kyouraku knows exactly where this conversation is leading, and invites the stern looking captain to speak.

“Fujimori Michiko. Is it truly her?” 

“Definitely! Urahara had, intentionally or not, omitted her name from the report…that’s why I decided to go down there myself,” leaning forward, he places his chin on the knuckles of his hand. “When we spoke, she admitted to feeling quite overwhelmed when she couldn’t detect many familiar reiatsu. That was her reason for running through the Senkaimon.” 

“I cannot believe that it has already been so long.”

“That’s exactly what I said! Not only did she do the hundred years Yama-jii sentenced her to, but an extra seven on top of that—simply due to how secretive the Kidou Corps were about her location.” 

“Did she look well?” 

He chuckles, “Certainly! If I hadn’t already sent Toushirou-kun down, I would happily authorise some leave for you. Assuming, of course, that you want to see her?” 

Byakuya turns to leave, “Please excuse me, Commander.” 

Kyouraku smiles, watching as Kuchiki Byakuya regains his stern composure on his walk from the room. After the doors close behind him, he exhales deeply before once again drifting into his memories.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, I would highly recommend switching to and reading 'The Wisteria Princess and The White Knight', which is a companion story for this series!


	10. Emotions run high! [Flashbacks]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of flashbacks highlighting some moments of heightened emotions for two characters in particular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay in updating.
> 
> If you would like to learn more about the 'mysterious shinigami' central to this story, Part One of her backstory is now LIVE [The Wisteria Princess and The White Knight]. It is by no means mandatory reading, and I know the themes are inappropriate for some! (This'll be the last time I mention it, promise!)

**Seireitei.  
107 years ago**

As the elderly shinigami approached the gates of the large manor, the outer guards hastened to open the gate and announce the arrival of the Head of the Kuchiki Clan. Without pausing to berate one of the guards on his sloppy posture, Kuchiki Ginrei sweeps past the gates and quickly locates his grandson. He watches the young man for a moment while he finishes the incantation for a particularly powerful kidou spell. As the spell crashes into a nearby target, Ginrei makes his presence known by applauding softly. 

Byakuya spins around in surprise. “Grandfather, I was not expecting to see you.” 

“Ah, well. I just came from that girl’s trial.” 

He struggles to keep his face expressionless. “Fujimori-san’s?” 

“At her own request, Fujimori Michiko has been sentenced to a hundred years of exile to a cave somewhere in the mountains,” his grandson remains silent. “It is about time that you forget about her, and focus on the future.”

He straightens before making eye-contact with his grandfather, “I am Kuchiki Byakuya of the noble Kuchiki Family. I would not disrespect my forefathers by harbouring emotions for a criminal,” the words feel like pure acid in his mouth. “If I may speak freely, Grandfather. Why would she recommend her own sentence?”

“Well, I suppose it was an attempt to preserve whatever honour she thought she had. Some of my esteemed captain comrades seem to entertain a rather romanticised idea that she broke the law to protect her fellow shinigami. Bah! A Shinigami’s duty is to protect Seireitei, not the lowly shinigami who inhabit it.” 

Byakuya feels himself being consumed by his emotions, but knows that he cannot show them in front of his grandfather. After taking a moment to calm himself, he rises from the bench and bends into a deep and respectful bow, “If you would please excuse me, grandfather. I must prepare for my duties tomorrow.” Ginrei nods and silently dismisses him.  He walks away with his fists clenched in a vain attempt to keep his emotions in check for just a few more minutes.

_ Michiko, I will remember you. I will wait for you, Mikko! _

***

Some one hundred years have now passed since that day. Byakuya had kept his silent promise to Michiko for many decades before he met Hisana, and in the years since her passing he had often found himself wondering just where the cave was. But however hard he searched, he had never detected the presence of Kidou barriers. He had resigned himself to never finding her when news of an academy student bearing striking resemblance to his wife had reached him.  Upon meeting the girl from the slums of Rukongai, Byakuya had felt a deep sense of guilt for forgetting the promise he had made to Hisana, and had quickly initiated the adoption procedures to lessen some of that guilt. Whilst he has never openly expressed his love for his sister-in-law, he remains grateful for her presence at the Kuchiki Estate, for she truly does resemble her sister. 

***

It was a tumultuous time for Seireitei, but love always finds a way to make itself known. It is now the morning after Yhwach had finally been defeated, and Captain Commander Kyouraku Shunsui had called his first official captain’s meeting. In place of the Captains they had lost, the Lieutenants for those Divisions had been asked to attend. This included Kuchiki Rukia, who had still not processed that Ukitake Jyoushirou was gone. She had felt like an imposter as she stood in the place where he should have been standing, but she pushed past those pangs of grief and listened as the new Commander had announced something rather surprising. 

In the hours following the meeting, Rukia could not shake her brother’s words from her head. ‘Ukitake would be proud of how you conducted yourself. As am I.’  She had tried to distract herself by sifting through reports, but she had collapsed into tears when she came across one of the last papers that Ukitake would have written.

“Ru~Ki~A~?” His thunderous voice echoes through the mostly deserted hallways, accompanied by his heavy footfalls.  


After moving towards the screen door and sliding it open, a very pale and tired looking Rukia pokes her head out of the door of her office. “Renji, why are you here?” She moves aside to let him enter before sliding the door closed behind him. 

Renji leans against the wall next to her and sighs deeply. “Captain just filled me in. I can’t believe any of it. I mean, Ichigo’s dad was a Captain, and a Shiba clansman at that!?” 

As Renji rambles, Rukia wipes the tear stains from her face, “Mhm. I never would have guessed it. Kaien-dono never mentioned having other family members in the Gotei.” 

She can see the concern on his face as he looks at her. “Rukia, I know it hasn’t been long, but if you ever wanna talk about Ukitake—”  Before he can finish his sentence, Rukia collapses against his chest.  His arms fall easily over her back. “Oi…c’mon, you’ll be alright,” he continues to hold her as he slides down onto the floor. He swallows against a lump that has formed in his throat as he starts stroking her hair. Soon enough his chest is wet with tears, “Aww, I’m gonna need to change my kosode at this rate!”  The top of her head brushes against his chin and he presses his nose and mouth into her hair. The hand that was stroking her head moves to her chin and tilts her face up. With tears glistening on her face, Rukia opens her eyes briefly to find Renji looking at her. She smiles as he brings his face closer, and all of her grief melts away as their lips meld and their bodies move closer together.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not italicised, but the '~' character indicates an exaggeration of the preceding syllable, particularly in the case of a vowel. So when Renji calls out Rukia's name, it should sound more like "RuuuuKiiiiiAaaaa". Something like that. ^,^


	11. In Karakura Town...An unexpected battle?!

**Present day: Karakura Town**

**[11:50 AM]**

It has already been two hours since Toushirou had first arrived in the underground training space. The first task was the instinct awakening phase; regardless of her capabilities in her human body, a plus soul has to learn their limitations. Karin had great strength and endurance in her human form, but in order to learn her soul’s limits, the best way was to be subjected to the basal instinct of ‘fight or flight’. It was not long before Hitsugaya began noticing her reiatsu developing.  They had taken one break, but he could see that Karin was eager to return to her training. The typical white kimono of a soul had already darkened to the black of the shinigami uniform, and he knew it wouldn’t be long until her zanpakutou was manifested. This suspicion was confirmed by Michiko and Ryuuko, who had already begun to communicate with the developing shinigami soul. 

Urahara and Michiko had retreated once to send a report to Kyouraku, but her Ryuuko remained materialised and had taken a keen interest in the training. Toushirou had rather reluctantly moved on to basic zanjyuutsu techniques whilst they waited for Karin’s soul to sharpen to the point required to manifest her zanpakutou. They were both sporting bruises and some small cuts, but nothing so serious that Orihime had been called over.

“You better not be going easy on me, Toushirou!”

“Hah, as if! Good. Remember to follow through. Don’t leave any openings!”

“Oof. Not bad, but I’ve been whacked by a hollow harder than that!” 

As they move to reset their positions, Toushirou notices that the dragon of Ryuuko is walking towards them. He is surprised when the materialised beast speaks.

“If you would wait just a moment, Hitsugaya-sama; I believe the girl’s zanpakutou is about to form. You may want to sit down,” she also sits back on her hind legs a few feet away from the girl. “Now, as if you are diving into the ocean, enter your inner world. Find the shard of your soul that will become your zanpakutou, and pull it out!”

The others currently in the underground space — Urahara Kisuke, Inoue Orihime, Kurosaki Ichigo, Jinta and Ururu — move closer to observe what is happening. 

The white tiger sits next to Orihime, “Girl, send out your shield.”

Orihime nods, and  _ Santen Kesshun _ appears between Karin and the dragon. Less than a minute later, she knows why Ryuuko had told her to send it out.

With an incredible burst of white and red reiatsu, a zanpakutou appears in Karin’s lap. The hilt is a deep crimson red with a pattern of golden diamonds. The guard is also gold, and has the design of a crescent moon. “Woah,” is all that Karin is able to say before collapsing backwards. Toushirou appears behind her and catches her head before it hits the ground.  He shakes his head in disbelief as he looks at the dragon, “Where’s Fujimori?” 

Instead of replying, the dragon simply turns her head to one side, and Michiko rather suddenly appears next to her. “I’m here. Seiryuu told me it was happening already,” kneeling at the side of Karin she closes her eyes briefly. “She’s fine, but a few hours of rest behind a stabilising shield should help her recover. Captain Hitsugaya, you can remain inside the barrier if you wish to regain your own strength. Ryuuko, please prepare for shielding style three.” 

“I think I’ll be okay. I’ll leave her to you,” placing Karin’s head on the ground, Toushirou rises and steps back near to where Ichigo and Orihime were standing.

“If everyone could please move back, I will now put up the barrier,” standing up, Michiko takes a few steps back herself. From above, it would appear that she has formed an equilateral triangle with the two parts of Tenshi Ryuuko. The dragon and the tiger sit on their hind quarters; the dragon stretches her wings and touches the tips together before being engulfed in a deep blue reiatsu. The tiger stretches upwards, and as his paws touch he too emits a reiatsu of a deep crimson. Michiko’s own reiatsu is a dark and heavy purple — as if the two colours of Ryuuko’s reiatsu had been mixed together like paints on a canvas. Chains appear seemingly from nowhere and connect the three together. The three oppressive reiatsu fade away as they are channeled into the chains, and Michiko speaks the words of the incantation.  “ _ Idairyuu, tenkai no jyoou. Anata no tsubasa wo ookiku hirogete. Osorubekitora, mitsurin no ou. Anata no tsume wo toite. Tenshi Ryuuko kousoku san: Tateza _ !”   


At the conclusion of the chant, the chains glow and steadily release the absorbed reiatsu to create an orange barrier around Karin. The dragon and tiger walk to either side of Michiko and disappear. On slightly shaky legs, Michiko takes a moment to check the stability and integrity of the pyramid shaped enclosure. Once she is satisfied that the shield is working as intended, she takes a step backwards and finds Toushirou next to her.  “Fujimori…that’s a powerful technique.” The young captain was clearly impressed as he examined the barrier, perhaps trying to identify the various components. Michiko smiles faintly whilst trying to regain her balance. Slowly, she walks towards the nearest artificial rock and presses her head against the cool surface. After a few moments, she hears footsteps coming towards her and repositions herself so that her back is against the rock.

“Michiko, are you feeling okay?” 

She tilts her head to one side at the concern that seems to be lingering on the young substitute’s face, “I will be. As Captain Hitsugaya said, it’s a powerful technique. It puts a huge strain on all three of us, and I can recover quicker if they return to me.” 

The concern on his face is replaced by curiosity. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that…where exactly is your zanpakutou?” 

Michiko smiles widely. It was now well over a hundred years since she had last revealed how she carries Ryuuko. With curiosity and interest on their faces, Orihime and Toushirou also step closer. Michiko raises her arms and allows the extra fabric of her sleeves to fall down. Along the lengths of her forearms, twin zanpakutou are secured with chains. “The chains are formed from condensed reiatsu that allow me to ‘release’ the blades in combat situations,” she lowers her arms, and the hilts are suddenly in her hands. “I maintain free movement, but I can never be disarmed—unless the enemy is somehow able to slice my arms off completely,” noticing the shocked expressions surrounding her, she blushes slightly. “Come on, is it really that strange? When they first materialised there were no scabbards, but these chains formed the next day. Anyone fancy a battle?” 

“Zangetsu’s a dual blade too. Seems like it’d be a fair match-up,” without warning, Hitsugaya moves to Ichigo’s back, sliding on the red glove and slamming it into his shoulder blades. Ichigo stumbles as he is pushed into his shinigami form. “Jeez, Toushirou! That was rather rough.”

“You think? I’ve never seen Fujimori fight, but I doubt she’ll be an easy opponent. Consider that to be your advanced warning.”

“Well, as Kenpachi might say, easy is boring. Let’s start, Michiko!” Ichigo quickly uses shunpo to move away from where Karin was resting. 

Michiko chuckles and turns to Orihime. “Do not worry, I will keep his injuries at a minimum.”  For a moment, she disappears entirely from sight. Once again, Hitsugaya finds that he is impressed by the mysterious shinigami.

***

Satisfied with the distance he had put between himself and the pyramid that Michiko had constructed, Ichigo had already drawn his blades. From his position in the air, he saw the moment that Michiko had vanished from his perception. Within the same second, she now stood about ten feet away from him with her hands on her hips.  As hard as he tries, he can’t keep the shock from his face. He scoffs quietly before grinning at her. “Michiko, do you have bankai?”

“Of course I do, but I just promised your lovely lady that I wouldn’t hurt you too badly. Feel free to use your Tensa Zangetsu though!” She remains perfectly still as Ichigo assumes an attack stance. The grin on her face grows wider, reminding Ichigo of Zaraki Kenpachi.

“Hmph. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you know the name of my bankai.” He stays steady in his position, waiting for Michiko to wrap her hands around the hilts of her twin zanpakutou. Instead, she folds her arms across her chest and quips an eyebrow at him, a silent invitation for him to commence the battle.  “You’re gonna regret that, Michiko!” Instead of charging head first towards her, he uses shunpo to attack her from the side. Although she makes no attempt to look for him, he highly doubts that she doesn’t know exactly where he is. She stands perfectly still as Ichigo closes in brandishing Zangetsu, but as soon as he is about to make contact with her shihakushou, she leans out of the way. The surprise alone almost sends Ichigo falling to the ground.

From their position on the ground, Toushirou and Orihime watch the fight that had commenced. “Hmph. I think they’ll be at it for a while, so I’m gonna head up for some air,” when Orihime doesn’t turn away from the fight, Toushirou sighs and briefly places his hand on her arm. “Don’t worry, Inoue. Ichigo has battled far worse.” 

“Mhm, I know. I’m actually less worried about him now that—” 

“Now that you’re dating?” 

She blushes furiously. “Hitsugaya-kun! How did you know that?”

“Fujimori hinted at it, but you just confirmed it.”

As he walks away, Orihime calls out to him. “Hitsugaya-kun, I’m glad it was you who came to help Karin-chan!” He smiles to himself before using shunpo to reach the ladder. 

Orihime watches on as Ichigo battles against the new shinigami that had only just arrived. He was smiling, but she knew now that this was a different smile; the kind of smile that she had once seen on Grimmjow, or even on Zaraki’s faces when they were fighting someone who presented a challenge. The smiles that Ichigo had shared with her earlier that morning were something entirely different, and she can’t stop the smile on her lips from spreading. She had always thought that he was only happy when he was fighting something — hollow, shinigami, visored, arrancar, espada or quincy — but she knows better now, and she wants to make sure that he could continue smiling every day.

***

Although Ichigo has yet to even put a scratch on her, Michiko is still impressed by his strength and determination. Her arms remain crossed over her chest, and the blades of her twin zanpakutou hang loosely from her oversized sleeves. As she continues ducking and weaving around Ichigo’s strikes, she can see his frustration mounting.  She chuckles as he moves in for another attack. “I can see why they’re so curious about you now, Kurosaki!” 

Ichigo is already panting. “Heh. I’m just glad you were hiding back when I was fighting against them.” 

Michiko can’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun, “Training, not hiding. Now come! Make me bleed for the first time this century!” She feels Ryuuko purring in excitement and blissful contentment.

A grin flashes across his face as he retakes his position away from her and she pouts, disappointed that he had moved so far away.  “Careful what you wish for, Michiko.  _ Getsuga Tenshou _ !” 

She makes no attempt to move away from the wave of energy, and it engulfs her before quickly fading away to nothing. She smirks and disappears from his perception once again. When she reappears, she is standing behind him. “That's all you got?”

He spins around, seeing that she is still standing with her arms casually folded across her chest, and the blades still swinging from her sleeves. Technically she had moved, but Ichigo knew that she was toying with him when he sees that her shihakushou is still in one piece.  “Hmph. Was that kidou?” she tilts her head to one side and pouts. “Ryuuko, then?” 

She shakes her head slightly. “Nope. You’ll never guess…unless you launch another—point blank!” 

“ _ Getsuga Jyuujishou _ !” From Ichigo’s perspective, the cross-shaped waves of energy crash into and engulf Michiko, but something strange happens. For less than a second, the mass of reiatsu seemingly freezes in place before once again vanishing. Now that he’s closer, though, he sees that Michiko had used her reiatsu to shield her body. If it wasn’t for the purple mist that was barely visible, he would have had no idea.  For Michiko, it was as simple as breathing. Aside from her proficiency in kidou, it was reiatsu manipulation that had made her Tessai’s ideal successor, and after many years of daily use, this technique felt like a second layer of skin. It was not normally perceivable to anyone but her, but she had wanted to see the look on Ichigo’s face when he noticed it. The purple smoke wisps and fades away as realisation spreads across his face. The technique is still active, but he can no longer see it.  “Your reiatsu alone is enough to deflect my  _ jyuujishou _ ?” 

She has a feral look on her face as she explains. “Well, you’re part right. It was my reiatsu, but I didn’t deflect  _ Getsuga Jyuujishou _ . If I had, it would have destroyed most of this space. My reiatsu negated your attack before dispelling it. Not a single scrap of it got past me.”  The shock on his face was mixed with confusion and a touch of amazement.  “Awh, that’s a glorious reaction! Isshin had a similar look when he first saw it.”

The mention of his father pushes him over the edge. “What happened to making you bleed? Isn’t that what you said?!”

“I did say that. I never said I’d make it easy for you though!” 

The battle continues on for another hour, with Ichigo entering bankai after a second  _ Getsuga Jyuujishou _ is unable to touch her. On the ground below, Orihime, Toushirou and Kisuke were all silently observing the fight that was raging on above them. Orihime can’t help but admire Michiko as she watches her continue to dodge Ichigo’s attacks with such ease. 

Kisuke struggles to believe what he is witnessing; even though he had been present at the meeting that had concluded with Michiko’s binding and exile, he had known next to nothing about her or her ability to manipulate her own reiatsu as well as those around her — he simply hadn’t thought it possible. 

Toushirou breaks the silence, “I figured she’d be strong, but that’s insane. I don’t think any of the current Captains could hold off against Ichigo’s new Tensa Zangetsu without releasing their own zanpakutou — and she’s still not even holding hers! If her time in solitary training had ended even just a few years sooner, maybe we wouldn’t have had so many losses.” 

A thoughtful look passes over Orihime’s face as she recalls just how much the Invading Quincy army had known about all of the fighters in the Gotei, “Maybe, but if Yhwach’s group knew about her and how strong she is…they would have killed her, and the morale would’ve dropped even more.” 

Inside the pyramid nearby, Karin stirs and sits up before glancing around groggily as her eyes start to focus on the people nearby. “Toushirou, Orihime?” 

Orihime kneels at the outside of the barrier smiling. “Karin-chan, how do you feel?” 

Karin begins stretching out the stiffness in her muscles from sleeping on the hard surface of the basement. Tilting her head up, she can see where the three sides of the pyramid join together. She looks pensive for a moment, wondering if this was one of Orihime’s abilities.  “Like I wanna get back to training! What’s with this pyramid anyway?” 

“It’s one of Fujimori’s skills. From what I can work out, it’s a protection shield formed by at least three different  _ bakudou _ techniques, layered with  _ kaidou _ for reiatsu healing.”

“ _Bakudou, kaidou, reiatsu_? What does any of that even mean, Toushirou?!” 

A smile touches his lips. “You’ll learn in time. Inoue, you might need to go and break up that fight.” 

Karin looks concerned, “Fight? Who's fighting?” 

Toushirou nods in the direction of the fight, “Your brother and Fujimori. Don’t worry though, it’s more like a friendly spar than a death match.” 

“How long was I out for?” 

“I think it was about two hours.” 

In an instant, Michiko is walking calmly back towards them. Toushirou notes that her blades have somehow returned to her forearms as he stands to move out of the way. Michiko examines the pyramid once more, and looks at the small form of Karin sitting inside it.  “Karin-san, you’re feeling better?” 

She nods, noticing that Michiko’s shihakushou is still intact. “Jeez, Ichi-nii didn’t even put a scratch on you. That’s pretty impressive, Fujimori-san!”

Without a word, Michiko touches a finger to the outside of the pyramid and it vanishes almost as quickly as it had appeared. The smile remains on her face as she examines her own uniform, “Well, he certainly tried! He’s still a baby shinigami compared to the likes of me and Captain Hitsugaya here. I’d say you’re good to go. However, I’ll be keeping a close eye on your reiatsu, and I will intervene if I think that you’re pushing yourself too close to the point of exhaustion. That goes for you too, Captain Hitsugaya.” 

Toushirou nods in agreement and gratitude as Karin stands up from the floor and brushes some of the dirt from her new shihakushou, “Right. I have no idea what that means, but thanks anyway. Let’s go, Toushirou!” Even without shunpo, Karin still moves with incredible speed back to where they had been training previously.

There’s no hiding the pride in his voice as he glances towards the formidable shinigami next to him. “It’s gonna be a long night isn’t it, Fujimori?”

“I believe so.” Michiko settles herself on the floor as Hitsugaya flash-steps over to Karin.

***

Orihime is still searching for where Ichigo had landed following Michiko’s sudden departure from the battlefield. “Ichigo, are you hurt? Where are you?” She almost misses the hand that appears from behind one of the larger rocks. She quickly runs around the rock and kneels beside him to assess the damage; He has minor cuts and bruises and one more significant gash along his forearm, but from the dirt that caked it, and the smear of blood on the ground next to him, Orihime assumes that the cut had been from his fall. “You’re bleeding! Well, I guess Fujimori-san stuck to her word though.” The healing shield of  _ Shun Shun Rikka _ activates over the more concerning gash and Ichigo sighs with relief as the damage is rejected. He closes his eyes briefly as he remembers the moment Michiko had actually touched him. 

As Orihime had called out to them, she had vanished from his perception completely. Without unfolding her arms, she had appeared behind him and delivered a powerful kick that had sent him hurtling through the air before he could even realise what had happened.  “Hmph. I could barely touch her. She could’ve done even more damage if she’d tried. Jeez. She damaged my pride more than my body,” as he opens his eyes again, he finds that Orihime has moved to his side, with her back also against the large rock. The look on her face threatens to completely melt his heart. She smiles and glances at Ichigo’s now fully healed forearm before asking Ayame and Shun’o to move to his other injuries. 

“I don’t think  _ Souten Kisshun _ can heal your pride.” 

Swallowing against a lump in his throat, Ichigo turns to her. “No, but you can.” 

Before she can formulate a response, he is moving in to kiss her. Unlike this morning, this kiss is longer, and neither can stop their hands from wandering. Their chests rise and fall in sync and every fibre of their bodies sing out to each other.  It doesn’t take long for  _ Souten Kisshun _ to reject the remainder of Ichigo’s minor injuries, but they remain behind the artificial rock for a while longer. After about an hour, they can hear shouting coming from the other side of the rock.

“ _ Oshidorifuufu~ _ . Are you both decent ‘round there?!”  Orihime can’t stop herself from flushing profusely as they pull apart from each other.

“My god she’s unbearable!”  Taking her hand into his, the smile on Orihime’s lips washes away his frustration. “You ready?” 

Finding words too difficult, she nods and squeezes his hand.

***

Back upstairs, Urahara connects to a call on the large screen with the Commander.

“Good news, Commander Kyouraku. Young Karin has fully transitioned from plus soul to shinigami as of about two hours ago. Fujimori-san helped to restore some of her strength by using a barrier, and she has just now resumed training with Captain Hitsugaya.” 

Shunsui seems pleasantly surprised. _“Good, good. I’m glad it’s all going smoothly. Quicker than expected though, hm? How is the Kurosaki clan handling the situation?”_

“Indeed. Isshin-san left some time ago with little Yuzu in order to explain at least some of what’s been happening. Meanwhile, Fujimori-san managed to keep Ichigo distracted with a battle, and that ended when Karin regained consciousness.”

_“Hah! Typical Mikko-chan. What’s your opinion of her?”_

“She’s strong. Very strong. Hitsugaya-san made a very good point whilst we were all observing the fight: None of the current captains, or indeed previous Captains, could hold off against Ichigo’s true Tensa Zangetsu without releasing their own blade, and yet Fujimori-san managed to accomplish just that without even wielding her own zanpakutou! It was truly remarkable to witness.” 

He holds back a pride-filled chuckle. _“And Ichigo-kun, is he recovering?”_

“Oh, well that’s the thing! I don’t believe he sustained any damage except to his pride. Fujimori-san made a promise to Inoue-san that she wouldn't hurt him.” 

Though surprised, Kyouraku smiles once more. _“My my…how very interesting. And where is Mikko-chan right now?”_

“She’s watching Karin’s training and making sure she doesn’t burn herself out.”

_“If you wouldn’t mind, Urahara-san. I would speak with her briefly.”_

Detecting a more serious note in his request, Urahara nods and turns towards the basement. As he once again moves to the ladder, he wonders how much of a hassle it would be to move the communications system into the underground space. Descending into the basement, Urahara quickly spots Michiko sitting close to where the training is progressing. 

“Ryuuko, have you recovered?”

_ The battle against Zangetsu has returned a good portion of our power. _

_ D’ya want us to come out again, Mikko? _

From a little way behind her, she feels Urahara’s reiatsu and she tips her head back to see him walking purposefully towards her.  “Fujimori-san, the Commander would speak to you. I can watch over things here.”

The strange note of urgency in the old shinigami’s voice has Michiko quickly on her feet. “Understood. Ryuuko, continue mapping Karin’s reiatsu.” The dark purple reiatsu emerges and forms as Michiko moves towards the ladder.  As she reaches the top, she realises that she doesn’t know where Urahara had set up the communication device. Instead of going back down, she begins poking her head through the various sets of screen doors. She is shocked when she slides open the third set of doors to find a large, moving image of the Commander. 

He smiles and gestures for her to move closer, _“Mikko-chan, you look shocked! These big screens are new to you, hm? Sorry to drag you away, but I was hoping to discuss something with you. Or rather, someone.”_

Michiko can do nothing to stop the confusion from crossing her face as she moves closer to the large screen; his vague reference to ‘someone’ leads Michiko to believe that this was not about either of the substitutes.  She lifts her head to look at him, “Someone?”

_“Yes. Kuchiki Byakuya. I trust that you remember him?”_

“Of course I do, Shuu-kun! Why…why do you ask?”

_“He came to see me earlier, and it seems he would like to reconnect with you.”_

“After all this time? I never considered—”

_“Mikko-chan, he just recently watched his sister marry.”_

“His sister? Did he take over from his Grandfather?”

_“He did,”_ his attention is drawn away for a moment. _“But let’s leave that for another time, hm? Urahara-san told me that you battled against Ichigo-kun. How was it?”_

“It was a good warm-up. He’s strong. Stronger than Captain Isshin was, I think.”

_“The problem with Isshin-san—and I’m sure Toushirou-kun would agree—well, if he wasn’t strong, he wouldn’t have been made captain, right? His problem was his laziness. His laid-back attitude even put mine to shame! On the other hand, Ichigo-kun has worked harder and harder ever since he first borrowed power from Rukia-chan,”_ he pauses briefly as Lieutenant Ise Nanao appears behind him. _“Ah, seems my attention is needed elsewhere. Please ask Urahara-san to report in again after you all wrap up for the evening, hm? Bye-bye Mikko!”_

***

Michiko stops the training after a further three hours. Karin’s reiatsu had stabilised, and her soul would no longer pose a threat to her human body. Captain Hitsugaya’s haori was splattered with blood, and Karin’s shihakushou had already been ripped in a few places. With the tenacity she had demonstrated so far, Michiko has to forcefully end the training.  “Fujimori, did you really have to knock her out?”

“It was either that or kidou binds, and if she had tried to break through the binds…all of this training would have been for nothing. She should be able to return to her human body now. Captain Hitsugaya, I’m sure the Commander would like to hear our report. Ichigo, Inoue, you can take her home now. I’ll have to check with the Commander, but I’m sure I’ll be able to stay for a few days and help Karin get the hang of things. If I’m right, she might have shikai by tomorrow evening, or at least hear the name of her zanpakutou. Good night.”

“Thanks, Michiko.”

“Ichigo, I can walk home if you want to use shunpo.”

“Hm? Nah, I can carry her home and then walk you back.” After a bit of a struggle, they manage to put Karin back into her human body, and Ichigo puts her across his back once he enters his own.  “Thanks, Urahara-san. Please thank Toushirou as well.”

“Of course! Good night Kurosaki-san, Inoue-san.”

***

Once again in front of the large screen, Michiko and Toushirou stand and wait for Kyouraku to appear on the other side. With the connection already established, they were able to hear him before he came into view. In order to disguise the closeness of her relationship with the Commander, Michiko moves seamlessly back into honorific speech.  “Commander Kyouraku-sama, we have completed Kurosaki Karin’s transition from plus soul to substitute shinigami. Her reiatsu has stabilised, and she is now able to safely continue use of her human body.”

_“Thanks Mikko-chan. Toushirou-kun, what do you make of our newest substitute?”_

“I think she’s on track to be about as deadly as her brother. However, I’m rather concerned that her confidence will put herself or others at risk.”

_“Confidence?”_

“Mhm. That’s the best way I can put it. Whenever she stepped inside my guard, her defense dropped completely, and there were even holes in her reiatsu. Her dodges and blocks are good, but purely instinctual. Honestly, I think she needs to be against someone a bit more ruthless; someone who won’t be afraid of hurting her. That’s how Ichigo learnt.”

_“It’s a good point. Do you agree, Mikko-chan?”_

“Yes. If it would be acceptable, I would take over from Captain Hitsugaya to hone the young shinigami substitute’s skills. As I told her brother, I believe she will have heard the name of her Zanpakutou by tomorrow evening.”

_“Well in that case we’ll leave it to you Mikko-chan! Toushirou-kun, you head back here whenever you’re ready, okay?”_

The pair move outside the small shop to take a breather. The sun is already setting, and Michiko drifts briefly into her memories from when she had last seen a sunset.

“Fujimori, do you think you can curb her confidence?” 

Michiko wipes dust and tears from her face, “Pretty sure yes,” she hesitates briefly before pressing the Captain with a question of her own. “When you told the Commander that she needs someone not afraid to hurt her, did you mean out of fear of Ichigo’s wrath, or maybe something else?” 

A blush rises to his cheeks before he can stop it. “You’ve fought against him now, so what do you think I meant?!” 

She knows she shouldn’t laugh — technically, Hitsugaya Toushirou outranks her. She clears her throat, “Well, I thought I had sensed something, especially when you stopped her from hitting her head. Even if you consider her to be a friend, it can be enough to dull your blade.”

“Mhm, maybe. Though I do still agree that I was the better choice for dragging out her shinigami powers. I should head back now.”

“Captain Hitsugaya, could I please ask that you deliver this to Kuchiki Byakuya?”

His eyebrows furrow in confusion, but he takes the bundle from her and slips it into the inside of his haori. “Sure. Whenever you come back, you should swing by the Tenth Division’s barracks. I think you and Matsumoto would get along.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Hitsugaya-sama.”

“No need to be so formal, Fujimori. See you around.  _ Kaijyou _ !”

***

Orihime and Ichigo had reached her apartment door five minutes ago. After reluctantly deciding that he should head home instead of going inside, Ichigo had pressed Orihime’s back against her door and wrapped his arms low around her waist. He kissed her neck, behind her ear, and her forehead before finally moving to her mouth. Orihime’s arms had wrapped around his neck, and her fingers had moved up into his hair. They were both smiling when they stopped for air. He kept his forehead pressed against hers.  “Should I come pick you up tomorrow?”

“I’d like that. Just call me first, okay?”

“And give you time to change out of your pyjamas? Why would I do that?! Okay, okay. I give in. Orihime, I promise I will call you at least one minute before I leave. There we go.”  They lock lips again, but not for as long. He moves one of his hands out from behind her back to open her door.  “Go on. I’ll see you tomorrow. G’night, hime.”

“Sleep well, Ichigo.”

The door closes between them. More than once Ichigo considers knocking on the door, and asking if they could forget the promise he had only made that morning. Finally, he moves away from her door and keeps walking away. His desire lingers like her smell on his skin.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Santen Kesshun - Orihime's protective shield. 'san'=three.  
> The pyramid shaped barrier constructed by Michiko - Incantation translates (roughly) to the following: Mighty Dragon, Queen of the Heavens, spread your wings wide. Fearsome tiger, King of the Jungle, sharpen your claws. Tenshi Ryuuko Way of Binding Three: Shield Constellation! **the shield constellation is also called Scutum.**  
> Souten Kisshun - Orihime's 'healing' shield (as explored in the Hueco Mundo arc, her ability is less healing and more the rejection/reversal of events). 'Sou'= pair/set.  
> Oshidorifuufu - Japanese expression whereby 'fuu' = man/husband and 'fu' = woman/bride. Can be translated as 'happily married couple', but also as 'loving couple' or 'lovebirds'.  
> hime - A pet-name!? Did you know that this part of Orihime's name is written with the character for 'princess'?! Yeh, he calls her Princess. ;3


	12. Chapter 12

**Seireitei**

Lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku is already waiting near the senkaimon when Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou returns from Karakura Town. If he notices her presence as he steps through the world gate, he doesn't give any indication. Using shunpo to stand behind him, he wonders what could be so urgent that it couldn’t have waited until they were back at the barracks.

“Captain, is little Karin doing well?” 

He nods slightly and sighs. “Yep. How did you hear about it anyway?”

“The Commander. He asked myself and Lieutenant Kuchiki to stand in at the meeting he held shortly after you left to explain what was happening.” 

He starts walking away. “I see. Did he also brief everyone on this shinigami called Fujimori Michiko?”

Rangiku falls in step beside him. “Yes,” she could see that he was in a pensive mood.

“Did anyone show any indication of remembering her?” 

Rangiku thinks back to the meeting, recalling how she hadn’t risked making eye contact with any of the Captains that surrounded her. “Not that I noticed, but it seemed like Commander Kyouraku expected that.” 

“When Karin was resting, she roped Ichigo into a battle. I think she could have easily killed him if she’d tried, because even against his bankai, she never even lifted a finger…let alone her zanpakutou.” 

Rangiku stumbles over her own feet in shock. “That’s…surely that’s impossible?!”

Toushirou shakes his head, “I would’ve thought so too, but no matter how many times Ichigo struck at her, she walked away without a single scratch or any damage to her shihakushou. It makes me wonder,” he stops walking, but it takes Rangiku a few seconds to realise.

Turning back, she sees that he is deep in his thoughts. “Captain, do you suspect that something strange is going on?” 

He looks at her for the first time since his return and shrugs. “I don’t know, but if Yamamoto, Kyouraku, Unohana and Ukitake knew how strong she was before she went into solitary, why didn’t they bring her out during any of our conflicts?” He glances in the direction of the First Division. “I should speak to the Commander before jumping to any conclusions, so please go back to the barracks without me,” for a second, he is sure he feels a presence behind him. If Rangiku had also noticed it, she didn’t hesitate before flashing away in the direction of their barracks. Toushirou remains where he is, and soon enough he feels the presence of another Captain appearing behind him.

“Captain Hitsugaya,” Toushirou smiles to himself before turning to face the taller Captain.

“Hmph. I was about to go all the way over to your barracks. Thanks for saving me the trouble, Captain Kuchiki. Where’s your Lieutenant?” Folding his arms across his torso, he discreetly feels for the scrolls that Michiko had handed to him before he left.

“That does not concern me right now.” His flippant attitude had always irked the younger Captain. Without breaking eye contact, Toushirou reaches into his haori and retrieves the still sealed scrolls. Captain Kuchiki’s gaze doesn’t flicker towards it for even a second.

“Right. Well, since you’re here I might as well give this to you. Fujimori Michiko asked me to deliver it to you. I won’t question it, or whatever history you may have with her, but please answer me one thing: Is she truly an ally?” 

Without a single twitch in his face to indicate any reaction to the question, Byakuya accepts the outstretched bundle of scrolls and tucks it into his own haori. “Yes. Good night, Captain Hitsugaya.”

In an instant, Toushirou finds himself alone in the quiet streets of Seireitei. “What the heck is going on!?”

***

The face of the girl he had loved all those years ago had not left his mind since the Commander had mentioned her in the meeting earlier that day. His heart had sunk when he realised how long it had been, and he had worried that she might resent him for not trying harder to find her when her sentence had ended seven years ago. The bundle that Hitsugaya Toushirou had handed to him was several sheets thick, so he waited until he had returned to his private quarters before unrolling them. Some of the inner sheets had clearly been written a long time ago, but they all still carried her scent. The newer scroll directs him to read it first, so he pushes the aged parchments to one side and reads.

_ “My dear, I thought that you would never want to think about me, let alone see me again after all these years, but I am glad to have been proven wrong. Shuu-kun told me rather cryptically that you had spoken with him about me. The tears come unwillingly, so I will conclude this note for now with one last thing: I still wish to walk beneath the trees with you, but perhaps we could run instead?” _

With a smile, he reads her words once more before moving onto the aged scrolls.

***

There are many things that Kyouraku Shunsui does not like about being Seireitei’s Captain Commander, but the one thing that he hates more than anything is the all too frequent trips to the chambers of the Central Forty-Six. But on this particular evening, just as Hitsugaya Toushirou had considered questioning him more about Fujimori Michiko, he finds that he doesn’t mind all that much as he waits in an antechamber, waiting to be called once more on to the platform. All the while, he reads over and over again the parchment he holds between his sweaty fingertips. From the box he had recovered in the early hours of the previous day from his old office, the yellowed scroll bore four unbroken seals. He had completely forgotten about applying the wax seal for the Eighth Division, with Ukitake’s Thirteenth Division seal below it and Yamamoto’s First Division seal above it. And above the seal of the old Captain Commander, the seal for the Kidou Corps, applied by Tsukabishi Tessai.

“Captain Commander Kyouraku, please follow me.”

Tucking the now crinkled scroll into the sleeve of his kimono, he follows closely behind the Courtroom attendant and stands once more in the chamber.

“I hereby call this meeting between the Council of Forty-Six and the second Captain Commander of Seireitei’s Gotei, Kyouraku Jirou Sakuranosuke Shunsui, into session.”

He has to stifle a groan at the use of his full name, and hope that the dim lighting of the chamber is enough to cast a shadow over his scowl.

“It is a most unusual request that you have brought to us, Commander Kyouraku,” an elderly male voice says.  


A small light illuminates the shield bearing the number twenty. “Fortunately, our archivists were able to locate the original documents from when this same request was first made some one hundred and sixteen years ago.”

“And this is certainly not the first time that the name of this shinigami has echoed throughout this chamber. Her record speaks for itself,” echoes a gruff voice from somewhere behind him.  


The head councillor's plaque lights up. “A record that has been sealed for one hundred and seven years, and with no one trying to access it until just yesterday. That access request came from one of your own, Commander Kyouraku. With that in mind, our first question is this: Exactly what have you shared with your Gotei of this request, and of the shinigami that is central to it?”

“I will start by saying that my Captains know nothing of this request. And to my knowledge, only two of them - apart from myself - know everything that happened back before her records were sealed. As for the rest of them, they have been told a tale of solitary training in the mountains. If at all possible, I would very much like to keep it that way for as long as I can.” 

“You would not seek their approval? I find that rather peculiar.”

“Please believe me when I say that it pains me very much to hide this away from not only my Captains, but from every single shinigami in Seireitei. However, this scroll that I have in my possession states beyond a doubt that this request has already been approved. Really, all we are here to do is finally enact it.”

“It is us who decide what it is that we are here to do, Kyouraku-sama! Has this scroll been authenticated?”

A woman's voice comes from behind screen fourteen. “It has. Not only does it perfectly match the version kept within her central records, analysis of the seals verify that they were indeed all applied on the same day as the document’s creation. The full authentication report is available to everyone here.”

“Regardless of all this, I must ask why you are so keen to enact this request. It was, after all, only yesterday that the shinigami in question emerged from her place of solitude.”

“And not only that, but the very first thing she did was escape to the Human World! I would also ask that Commander Kyouraku justify his haste in bringing this request before us.”

“Before Kyouraku-sama answers this question, I would ask my fellow council members to please read the documents once more. Even in the original filings, it is rather clearly stated that this request is to only be enacted upon her claiming of the Kidou Corps mantle and title. I, for one, believe that this is justification enough.”

“Our personal opinions should remain just that - personal. Commander Kyouraku, please explain your reasonings as previously requested.”

“My reasons are very simple. Yama-jii wasn’t known to do anything without very good reason, and as his successor, I believe that it’s now my duty to ensure that this is carried out. As for the timing, well, I can’t think of any reason to delay it any further. Had everything gone according to plan, we would’ve retrieved her from her exile seven years ago, and I’m sure it would've been Yama-jii standing here asking much the same thing.”

“Other documents in her records show that you played something of a pivotal role in her earlier years in Seireitei, so I would ask this: Is it your head or your heart that brought you here with this request, Commander Kyouraku?”

“Hypothetically speaking, could it not be both? I added my name and signature to the petition I believe you’re referring to because I knew, even back then, that she would one day stand proud in a haori. My personal connection to her did not influence me back then, and it is the same now. I am here simply because she has most definitely earned it.”

“As head councillor, I hereby adjourn this meeting for deliberations. You will be informed of our decision, but for now you are dismissed.”

*** 


	13. A Zanpakutou is born!

**Karakura Town.**

**Sunday**

Ichigo wakes up early; far too early for a Sunday. After checking that it wasn’t his hollow notifier that had woken him, he rolls out of bed and takes a shower. Orihime was already on his mind, but had she ever left it? He loses track of time as he continues to stand under the water with his forehead pressed against the cool tiles, he hears tapping on the other side of the door. 

“Oi Ichigo! Don’t use all the water!” Exhaling slowly, Ichigo turns the water off and steps out. After tying a robe around himself, he leaves the bathroom and sees Isshin leaning against the wall. “You’re up early.” 

It was far too early for whatever conversation his dad was fishing for. “So are you. Did I wake you?” He turns to walk back to his room. 

From behind him, he hears his dad sigh. “Nah. This whole thing with Karin-chan is happening so fast — I found grey hair last night!” 

He shoots an exasperated look at Isshin from his doorway. “I’m gonna do a patrol. See you at breakfast, old man.”

It is strangely quiet in the sky above Karakura Town this morning. Ichigo had been hoping to come across at least one hollow to distract him, but all he found were plus souls waiting to move on. The dual blades he now carries came in handy when he found two young brothers who could only watch on as the fire crew battled the flames engulfing a car nearby.

They looked to be about the same age as Karin and Yuzu had been when they had all lost their mum. One of the boys had started crying all over again upon seeing Ichigo, and the other looked ready to fight the significantly taller and stronger shinigami who had appeared in front of them. Ichigo smiled in what he hoped was a friendly way as he approached and knelt down in front of the boys. After realising that he wasn’t going to hurt them, the more confident and assertive boy explained what had happened.  “We fell asleep on the back seat. Mummy couldn’t carry us, so she put a blanket over us instead. We didn’t wake up until it was too late…what’ll happen now, mister?”

“You’re going to Soul Society. If you hold hands, you won’t get separated, okay?”

“What’s it like?”

“Well, it’s big. There’s lots of people up there, and you’ll find someone that’ll look after you, as well as lots of other kids to play with. Now, are you ready?”

“I think so.”

As he watches the small butterflies flutter up into the morning sky, Ichigo briefly thinks what it would be like to have kids of his own someday. He continues his patrol until the morning mist clears. On his way back, he wonders if it would be too early to call Orihime.

***

Climbing back through his bedroom window, he sees Karin standing against his closet. “Morning, Karin. What’s up?” Noticing the bags under her eyes, he wonders if she had gotten any sleep at all.

“Ichi-nii, how did you do it? Like, you went to school, sneaked out and killed hollows, came home, did your homework, killed more hollows? Does it ever stop?” She moves to perch on the end of his bed, and Ichigo sits on the chair at his desk.

“Nah. It’s okay though. I mean, when I was at school I tried leaving the shinigami work to whoever had been sent down by Seireitei. It was difficult at first, especially when I had that thing shouting at me that a hollow had appeared somewhere. Besides, it’s not just the shinigami that’ll handle the hollows either! Ishida can shoot them down from wherever he is, and then there’s the visored who didn’t go back to Seireitei, and humans like Orihime and Chad who can also deal with them.” 

Confusion had crossed his sister’s face at the mention of the group that had helped him finally gain control over his inner hollow. “Visored?” 

“A group of shinigami who were used as experiment subjects by another shinigami named Aizen Sousuke. Long story short, they were forced into becoming a shinigami/hollow mix. They somehow managed to escape here to our world with Urahara and Tessai.” 

Karin’s eyes widen. “So, they can change into hollows like werewolves or something?!” 

Ichigo has to stop himself from laughing at the thought of someone like Hiyori transforming into a werewolf. “Not quite. They keep their shinigami forms, but they can summon up a hollow mask. It makes them a lot stronger than a regular shinigami, but the masks don’t last very long.” He decides it was too soon to reveal that he also has this ability, and hopes that Karin won’t question how he knows so much. 

“Why did they have to escape?”

“I don’t know all the details. But the government up there, Central Forty-Six, decided that this group of hollowfied shinigami should be exterminated instead of saved. Things have changed now, and I guess some of them felt okay about rejoining the ranks,” he realises that he hadn’t had a chance to really speak with the reinstated Captains since briefly seeing them after his battle with the fullbringer and former substitute shinigami Ginjyo.

“What changed their minds?” 

“Aizen and two other Captains finally revealed themselves as traitors, and Aizen was eventually captured and sentenced to spend eternity in a special prison cell deep under Seireitei,” he pauses briefly. “Karin, I’m sorry we never really got to talk about all of this before.” 

Though surprised by his sudden apology, she smiles. “I get it. You had your hands full saving the world.” 

Ichigo wonders when she had gotten so mature, but stops himself from thinking back to the seventeen months he had spent without his shinigami powers. After falling into a comfortable silence, Ichigo is about to merge once more with his human body when they both hear footsteps on the staircase. “Karin-chan~?” 

Perhaps without thinking, Karin calls out immediately. “In Ichi-nii’s room, Yuzu.” 

As the door opens, Yuzu sees Karin sitting on Ichigo’s bed, but as he hasn’t yet gone back into his body, it looks like he is still sleeping. Seeing the confusion on her face, Ichigo moves to the empty shell and merges with it. “Why are you in here? He’s asleep!” 

“Yuzu. Dad spoke to you, right?”

Shock sweeps across her face.“Onii? Oh, I get it. You weren’t asleep,” tears well in her eyes and she turns to run away. “Why can’t I see it all as well? It’s not fair!”

“W-wait! Yuzu!” Karin runs off after her.

“Jeez.” After noticing the time, Ichigo smiles and presses the call button next to her name. It doesn’t take long for her to answer. 

“Morning ‘hime. Sleep well? Yeah, me too. Nah, I’ve not eaten yet so…yeah you do. Well, I’ll wait a little while then. See you soon.”

Downstairs, there’s a knock at the front door. Karin stops and decides to pause her search for Yuzu to answer it. “Oh hey! Fujimori-san, wanna come in?”

Once again in her gigai, Michiko tugs on the hem of her shirt as she steps into the foyer and out of her shoes. “Morning, Karin. Are you excited for today?”

“Heh, I’m excited to kick Toushirou’s butt again!”

“Hitsugaya-san went back to Seireitei last night.”

“Oh. But I’m still training, right?”

“Of course. We agreed with the Commander that I should take over, seeing as I do not have any responsibilities up there like Captain Hitsugaya does.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

“Morning, Michiko. Want me to bring Orihime again today?”

“Ah, Ichigo. Yes, I believe it would be best to have her on hand. Are you leaving now?”

“Not quite,” he called from the kitchen. “Where’re Dad and Yuzu?”

Karin shrugs. “Beats me.”

“I would like to speak with Yuzu quickly, if you don’t mind. Karin, let’s head over to Urahara’s after, okay?” After closing the front door behind her, Michiko quickly finds Yuzu sitting against one of the low walls outside the clinic. “Good morning, Yuzu.”

“Eh? Uhm, Fujimori-san?”

“Right! You okay? You’ve been crying.”

“Oh, it’s just…Karin-chan was in Onii-chan’s room this morning but when I went in, it looked like he was asleep! Then he suddenly moved and I realised that he was just in the form that I can’t see and it’s…it’s not fair! I’m the only one now that Dad can see them again. Karin-chan always says that I’m lucky not to see them, because if I can see spirits, then I can also see the monsters, and then Dad explained yesterday that even if I could see ghosts and monsters, I might not be able to see the Shinigami like him and Onii-chan!”

“Well, it’s all true.”

Her hands fly up to her face. “Oh! I didn’t even think! Fujimori-san, you know about all of this?!”

“Mhm. I’m also a shinigami. Back before your Dad came here, we worked together for a little while. I thought maybe he would have mentioned it. Regardless, I can help you.”

“Help?”

“If you truly want to see spirits. The good and the bad kinds.”

“Really?!”

“Yes. You cannot see it right now, but I’m holding something like a bracelet in my hand. For as long as you wear it, you will have enough spiritual power to communicate with spirits and Shinigami. You will also see hollows, but all you have to try and do is ignore them, until someone like me or your brother comes along, okay? Are you ready to try it?”

She nods excitedly.

“Okay, it may feel a little bit strange. Cold, but somehow warm at the same time…like when you need a cold compress on an injury. Something like that. Are you right handed? So, I’ll put it on your left arm.  _ Musubero _ .” 

Yuzu’s face lights up. The bracelet that has now appeared on her arm wraps around her forearm and sits just under the elbow. As she admires it, the colours change between white, gold and silver. “So pretty!” 

Michiko keeps her fingers over Yuzu’s wrist, commonly acknowledged as a reiatsu vent, to check that it isn’t influencing her soul too heavily. “It is very pretty. And, you don’t have to worry about any of your friends asking about it. Only humans like your brother’s friends, and any shinigami you meet will be able to see it. It’s quite durable, but do try not to play with it too much, okay?”

Yuzu has tears in her eyes once again. “Thank-you so much, Fujimori-san!” 

“Oh, well you’re very welcome. Now, I need to start training with your sister. We’ll be at Urahara’s shack if you want to stop by later.”

“Okay!”

***

Ichigo can't stop himself from running all the way to her apartment. As the building comes into view, the sight of her stops him dead in his tracks. She was smiling and waving at him, her freshly washed hair shining in the sunlight. His paralysis wears off and he charges up the stairwell, sweeping her off her feet into an embrace. “I-Ichigo! I’m gonna get dizzy!”

“Ah, sorry.” Finally placing her on the ground again, his arms remain around her waist. As he had done the night before, he shifts their bodies so that her back is against the wall. Her arms fling around his neck, and this time, it’s her turn to press her lips onto his neck. After what feels like an eternity to him, their lips connect. There’s no urgency, no rush, but at one point, her mouth opens just a little against his, and he feels the tip of her tongue.  “Oh man. Orihime, that was…cruel.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, first there was you telling me about having a shower this morning, then when I turn up, you’re already outside so I can’t do anything other than kiss you…and then, just to make keeping away from you even more difficult, I felt your tongue just now. If that’s not cruel, I don’t know what is.”

***

The two shinigami had arrived in Urahara’s underground space about ten minutes previously. Michiko had walked Karin through some warm-up exercises that were a little bit different than what humans tend to do. They had spent the last five minutes on sword meditation; Michiko had explained it as a way to cultivate patience, as well as a more open relationship with her zanpakutou. As an example of a strong relationship between shinigami and zanpakutou, Michiko had called out Ryuuko into their smaller forms. Unlike the first time they had appeared at this size, the dragon and tiger have a bit more energy this morning. Whilst the dragon moves to her favoured spot around Michiko’s neck, the tiger moves over to Karin, and she’s pleasantly surprised by how solid he feels. “Do all zanpakutou manifest like this?”

“Urahara-san tells me that it’s quite rare, and Captain Hitsugaya seemed to agree.”

“Can we start now?”

“Hm, seems like you’re gonna need to practice your patience a little more! I just wanted to wait for your brother to bring Inoue here. Just in case.”

“Oh yeah. He headed over there a little while ago. I wonder what’s taking so long.”

“Mhm I wonder,” as hard as she tries, she can’t keep the grin from her face.

The look on Karin’s face says it all. “Oh, Fujimori-san. Really!?”

“No idea what you mean,” the control she has over her urge to laugh crumbles, and the dragon flaps her wings, using them to bat at Michiko’s face.

“Does, uh, your dragon not like you laughing?”

“Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve had something to laugh about, I guess. This is her way of playing when she’s in her smaller forms,” after the dragon settles, Michiko stands and calls her blades down from her forearms. “Well, I expect they won’t be too much longer. Let’s start with stances and basic sword skills, hm?”  Although Toushirou had spent a significant amount of time battling against Karin the day before, Michiko decides to go all the way back to the very basic mechanics of zanjyuutsu by first covering some of the fundamental stances. 

“This is like Kendou.”

“You have that down here? Well that’s good.”

“I’ve never done it. Always thought it was a bit silly, you know? Why learn how to fight with wooden sticks when things like guns exist now.”

“It’s a good point. However, once you have the strength and agility to fight with a ‘wooden stick’, you can counter just about any weapon — even a gun. For example, if you were holding a gun to me right now, and I was in my gigai, I reckon I would have a good chance of disarming you before you could pull the trigger.”

“But…how? You’re too far away! Wouldn’t it be easier to just try and dodge?”

“Nope. The thing with guns is that they are too easy. The ‘point and shoot’ method means that if the wielder misses their target the first time, they can immediately fire another, and another. The odds of successfully dodging decrease significantly each time, so my aim would be to move into their range and make them hesitate, even for a second.”

“That would take some serious guts.”

“That’s exactly the point! People who choose guns do so because they think that it will keep people away from them. It’s rather cowardly when you think of it like that. Anyway, by making them hesitate by doing something they think is risky, dangerous, or even stupid…they are the ones who end up on the ground,” she grins, noticing the two figures descending the ladder. “Ah, here they are! Nice for you to join us, lovebirds!”

“Heh. So we can start properly now, right?”

“Only if you are sure you’re ready. I’m not afraid to cut you like Captain Hitsugaya might have been yesterday.”

“I’m ready!”

Ichigo and Orihime quickly retreat to stand against the wall behind the ladder and watch as Michiko begins her first lesson with Karin. Thinking back on their various instructors over the years, they both quickly conclude that Michiko might have been a better teacher for them and their group as well. “Fujimori-san is pretty amazing,” conceded Orihime.

Ichigo puts his arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. “We’re lucky she turned up when she did. Dad told me if she’d come even a day later, it might’ve been too late.”

“I never even...” unsure how to continue her thought, she lets it hang in the air.  


“No one did. I mean, I’ve always been terrible at reading reiatsu, but Urahara said it wasn’t really Karin’s reiatsu that was the problem,” he explained, his fingers lazily tracing circles over her forearm.

“How do you mean?”

“Michiko’s Ryuuko can easily communicate with another zanpakutou, right? I told you that she’d already learned the names of Zangetsu and Benihime before she even came down from the bridge to meet us. Well, a zanpakutou is a piece of our soul, and with our inherited shinigami powers, Karin already had that bit of soul waiting to be unlocked. When Michiko met her, that little zanpakutou in her soul was screaming.”

“Gosh,” twisting her body slightly, she buries her head into his chest. It was as much to comfort herself as it was to help him. He smiles at the burst of warmth radiating from his chest and wraps his other arm around her. The fragrance of strawberry shampoo and freshly made bread was fast becoming his favourite smell.

Sod waiting, he thinks. “Listen, Orihime. If I didn’t have you, the way I do now, I mean. I don’t know how I would’ve reacted. You kept me strong, and stopped me from sliding into a dark place. My whole body feels lighter, more certain. I’m braver now because my entire being knows that you’ll always be at my side. I feel invincible. Orihime, I love you.”

Before she can fully process the words that had just tumbled out of his mouth, his lips are against hers. Slowly, he slides down the wall, taking them both onto the floor without breaking the kiss. She’s on his lap without quite knowing how. Once again, there is no urgency, no rush. This time, it’s Ichigo who slowly opens his mouth against hers — a simple invitation that she quickly responds to. They both shiver as their tongues begin to dance. They knew they needed to stop, but it was like a drug: how do you stop something that feels so good, so right? Slowly, they pull apart. “Ichigo, I didn’t get a chance before, so…I love you too. I think I always have,” realising that she is still across his lap, she blushes and stands up. “Uhm, I’m gonna check for injuries. On Karin-chan and Fujimori-san that is.”

He huffs something like a laugh. “Sounds good. I’ll be over in a few.”

***

Michiko and Karin had slowly been moving away from where they had originally started their training session as their blades continued to clash. Karin is as relentless as Ichigo in her pursuit to land a single hit on the evasive shinigami, but Michiko can see that she was starting to push herself too hard. “Good! Let’s break.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Karin, you may not have realised it, but you were starting to wobble! Besides, you’re already improving way quicker than we had expected. A few minutes of downtime really won’t do any harm. In fact, knowing when to stop and take a breather will prove very beneficial.”

“I can almost hear it. My zanpakutou.”

“Oh yeah? That’s good. Do you want to try the meditation again?”

“Karin-chan, any injuries?” Orihime asked, jogging to reach them.

“Uhh, I don’t think so?”

“We’re pretty good over here, Inoue. Stay close for now, though.”

“Okay.”

“Karin, let’s go again. This time, rely solely on your instincts to dodge and attack. Focus everything else into your zanpakutou; close your eyes if you have to!” 

Karin closes her eyes, and she is wrapped in a cloak of white reiatsu with wisps of red. Smiling slightly, Michiko begins closing the distance between them before suddenly using shunpo to change direction completely. Just as it looks like her blades will slash into her back, Karin uses her own blade to block it before twisting on her feet and pushing back. They clash over and over, but Karin doesn’t open her eyes once. Not even when her defense falters and Michiko lands a slash to her forearm, and again to her leg. Whatever had caused Karin’s lapse in concentration faded, and suddenly it was Michiko being pushed back and attacked. With her eyes closed, the confidence that she had shown against Hitsugaya the day before vanishes almost entirely; that means fewer mistakes, and it means that she doesn't hesitate to make a strike when she finds herself inside Michiko’s guard. Slowly, Michiko was increasing her own reiatsu so that she became faster and harder to hit. Currently, she estimated that she was at the level of a Lieutenant, and if Karin could keep pushing against her at this level, she would increase again to Captain level. If she could still hold her own, Karin would be on the same level as her brother. Using another reiatsu manipulation technique, Michiko also makes herself less visible to Karin’s mind eye—the sense that was allowing her to track her opponent without sight. Still, she came. They traded hits, and the sand beneath them was slowly turning red. Ichigo had returned to Orihime’s side at some point, and he watches in shock as they continue to trade blows. 

Michiko realises it barely a second before Karin does, and they both stop. 

_ It’s coming, Mikko! The name of her zanpakutou… _

“Mikadzuki!”

Michiko has to act quickly after realising that Inoue and Kurosaki were standing too close; had he been in his shinigami form, he could’ve flash-stepped them both out of the way. She knows that if she moved to protect them herself, the incoming blast would cause an avalanche of rocks. The only option was a barrier. A high level barrier. There was no time for the incantation, and barely enough time for the command word to leave her lips. “ _ Dankuu _ !”  As the splitting void appears in front of Ichigo and Orihime, Michiko quickly assumes her Manipulate: Negation stance, with the blades of Tenshi Ryuuko crossed in front of her to resemble a crucifix. If she had hesitated even a second longer…

***

The burst of light from her Zanpakutou startles her and the room begins to shake. She opens her eyes and sees that the wave of light has struck against Michiko before being frozen in place. She couldn’t see what was happening, but the attack that she had somehow unleashed was now shrinking, fading. “Fujimori…san?” The wave of light disappears, and for a moment it looks like Michiko disappears with it. A large crash echoes from somewhere below her.

“Whew boy! That was close. Inoue-san, over here please!”

“ _ Souten Kisshun _ !” 

The orange dome appears around both Michiko and Urahara, who had caught her just before what would have been a catastrophic impact. With the dust clearing, Karin sees the dome for the first time, and Michiko unconscious inside it. She brings herself to the ground, and Ichigo runs over. “Karin! What—whoa.”

“Huh?” For the first time, Karin notices the change that has occurred to her zanpakutou. The blade had transformed into a crescent moon shape with the tips of the ‘moon’ curved up towards the hilt, which was now in the centre of the blade. It is pure white, and a silvery mist appears to constantly swirl around it. It looks heavy, but it isn’t. Tentatively, Karin touches the outer edge of the blade and there is a push-back from the blade itself — could that be Mikadzuki telling her not to touch the edge?

“Karin, can you hear me? Oi, Karin!” The voice sounds muffled, as though she was underwater. She forces herself to the surface and finds Ichigo shaking her by the shoulders.

“Owh! Ichi-nii…what happened?”

“I was trying to ask you the same thing! Orihime, I’m bringing her over,” suddenly against his chest, he carries her to where Orihime has set up her healing shield. As they approach, the dome stretches around them. 

Urahara smiles as she sits down inside. “It’s pretty cool from the inside, hm? How about asking that blade of yours to reseal?”

“How? Oh,” as soon as Urahara plants the thought in her mind, it seems that Mikadzuki hears it and the blade returns to its original state. “Is Fujimori-san okay?”

“I expect she will be! The first ever shikai release of a zanpakutou tends to be pretty powerful. Especially, it seems, from your family. Both your Dad and Brother have techniques that unleash a mass of reiatsu to strike their opponent called  _ Getsuga Tenshou _ , and I expect that you have something similar. If you had been against someone like Captain Hitsugaya when that had happened…well, Inoue-san would have been reattaching at least an arm. Don’t worry, young Kurosaki-san! Fujimori-san knew exactly what she was doing. Not only did she set herself up to negate and dissipate your energy burst with her own reiatsu, she was also able to place a high level kidou barrier in front of Inoue-san and your brother. All within a second of your release!”

“But…how?”

“Oh, I have a theory, but I’m sure Fujimori-san here will be able to explain it better once she wakes up.” 

Over the next five minutes, Karin watches in silent amazement as her wounds heal, and even as the fabric of her shihakushou mends itself. Something similar was happening to Michiko, but it seems to be taking longer. On the other side of the barrier, Orihime looks deep in thought. 

“Inoue-san, would it be better if Karin and I came out of the barrier?” Urahara prompted.  


“Mhm, please do.”

“Right! Young Kurosaki-san, how about some lunch?” 

Although Karin moves to the outside of the barrier, she can’t move her eyes away from the unconscious form of Michiko.

“Karin. Don’t worry about Michiko, Orihime has healed far worse. Go eat,” he nods at Urahara, who puts a comforting arm around Karin’s shoulder before using shunpo to exit the underground space.

“Ichigo, you can go up as well, if you want.”

“How about I try something…we were told ages ago that your  _ Shun Shun Rikka _ came from my leaky reiatsu, right? I know the  _ Hougyoku _ had something to do with it as well, but…anyway, what if I tried putting some of my reiatsu into the barrier?” 

Orihime is still deep in thought, but one of her pixies flies away from the barrier and hovers in front of his face. “Hiya, Ichigo! If you want to help, it would be better for you to pour your reiatsu directly into Orihime instead of onto the barrier. It might work now that you’ve deepened your bonds to each other!”

“Right. Thanks, Shun’o.” 

Ichigo sits down directly behind Orihime and positions himself with one leg on either side of her. He puts his arms around her waist, and tucks his head against her neck as he begins trying to channel his reiatsu. After a few moments,  _ Souten Kisshun _ glows brighter, and Michiko slowly regains consciousness after a further ten minutes.  After sitting up, she sees the exhaustion on Orihime’s face. “Thank you, Inoue. You should rest now.” 

Orihime leans back against Ichigo and closes her eyes, immediately falling asleep. After a few minutes of silence, Ichigo glances at the shinigami who’d appeared seemingly out of nowhere and had already saved his sister. Michiko seems to be drifting into her thoughts once again while absentmindedly running her fingers across her arms. “Michiko, are you really okay?” For the briefest moment, Ichigo is sure that he sees tears in her eyes. 

Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “It’s been a long time since I was on the receiving end of a new shikai release. It’s always painful, and even with my negation and dissipation, it was enough to knock me out. Did someone catch me?”

“Urahara. He didn’t so much as catch you but break your fall.”

“And you two were unharmed?”

“Completely. Did you put that screen up?”

“Mhm.  _ Dankuu _ . I wasn’t sure if it would be strong enough without the incantation.”

“That’s pretty amazing, y’know. In that single second, you protected us and yourself?”

“Hmph. If I had retained consciousness, I would agree with your assessment.”

“Urahara mentioned that if Karin had unleashed that against any other shinigami, it could have cost them a limb.”

“That sounds about right. It’ll take some more training, but she should be able to stabilise that energy burst. It’ll still be a devastating attack, just hopefully less likely to outright kill any friendly who happens to be in range.”

“If she reaches bankai, would it be the same?”

“Honestly, I would ask that you avoid even mentioning the term bankai to her. I heard how you got yours, and it seemed like sheer luck that it did not kill you. There’s a reason why only the top level shinigami can attain it. If she does reach that level eventually, her training for it will have to be in the mountains of Seireitei. Far away from anyone, and potentially behind some of the same barriers that I spent the last hundred years behind. I should report to the Commander, but we are done for the day.”

“Already?”

“Yes. You never experienced a shikai release because Zangetsu is permanently in his primary state of release, but it is incredibly draining on the soul. Inoue’s healing would have helped slightly, but even in Seireitei it can take weeks for a shinigami to restore their reiatsu to the level required to safely resume training.”

“Right. Thanks, Michiko. For everything.”

Michiko bows slightly before using shunpo to leave the training space. With Orihime fast asleep against his chest, all Ichigo can do is slowly lower himself onto his back. Idly stroking her hair, he finds himself also drifting into sleep.

***

Back upstairs, Michiko finds that Urahara has already set up a link to the Commander’s office on the strange screen. Finding a chair to sit on, she waits for him to appear.

“ _ Ah, Mikko-chan! I was getting a little worried when I hadn’t heard from you. So, how’s it all going down there? _ ”

“Sorry, Shuu-kun. I have now completed Karin’s shinigami initiation training; she has learned the name of her zanpakutou, and experienced her initial shikai release. Without the spirit-particle dense environment of Seireitei, it could be as much as two months before I could safely restart her instruction.”

“ _ Well that’s rather incredible _ ,” his eyes flash with an idea. “ _ How about bringing the young substitute here? Even just for a day! I’ll arrange for her to get a badge like Ichigo-kun’s, and she can see Seireitei for the first time, hm? Ya know what, bring the whole Kurosaki clan! I’ll have to make arrangements for young Yuzu-chan, but we’ve done it many times before for Ichigo-kun’s group! _ ”

“I will present your invitation to the family. Regardless of their collective response, I would like to return to Seireitei until such time that Karin can resume her training.”

“ _ Yes, yes! There’s lots of people up here wanting to meet you, Mikko-chan! I’ll start the arrangements on this end at least. Bye bye _ .”

Michiko remains seated in front of the large screen for a few moments, perhaps waiting for Lieutenant Ise to appear and retract the Commander’s invitation for the whole family to journey to the Court; it had been a while, but Michiko knew when Kyouraku had been drinking too freely. When the screen doesn’t come back to life, she retreats from the room to locate the three Kurosaki shinigami. Karin and Yuzu had fallen asleep in one of Urahara’s guest rooms, whilst Isshin seemed to be somewhere on the other side of town, and Ichigo was still sleeping soundly down in the basement with Orihime.

“Is something troubling you, Fujimori-san?”

“I’m wondering if it would be appropriate for me to travel to Isshin’s current location. The Commander would like me to present an invitation.”

“How curious! Well I don’t think he’ll mind too much if you go there. If I’m right, he’s visiting his wife at the cemetery.”

“Right. If any of the siblings wake up, would you hold them here until I return?”

“Sure.”

***

Michiko lands next to a large tree near where Isshin is standing before a headstone. She does not reveal her presence, and had even reduced her reiatsu signature as she had left Urahara’s shop just a moment ago. 

Isshin stubs out his cigarette and signals to her. “You can come out, Mikko.”

“Not bad. I thought I had dimmed my presence enough.”

“I had a feeling that either you or Urahara would turn up here eventually. So, how goes my daughter’s training?”

“Karin is currently recovering after releasing her zanpakutou to the first stage. The release itself contained an overwhelming burst of power that knocked me unconscious.”

“Woah. And you were using your reiatsu barrier?”

“Naturally. ‘Negate and Dissipate’ was active, and I also had to place a  _ dankuu _ in front of your son and Inoue.”

Isshin whistles, clearly impressed. “Whew. Did you hear the name?”

“Ryuuko heard it at the same time she did -  Mikadzuki . Unfortunately, I lost consciousness before I could see the physical transformation”

“Do you reckon that wave of energy was a  _ Getsuga Tenshou _ ?”

“Potentially. Ryuuko is analysing the signatures now, but there was something else that I came to you for.”

“Oh?” Isshin said, crouching to bring his face level with hers. He wiggles his eyebrows. “Well, if you’re about to confess your love for me, I would ask that you wait for us to be away from my wife’s grave!”

She can’t hide her disgust. “No. Shuu-kun has extended an invitation for you and the three children to visit Seireitei. Karin will likely receive her substitute badge, and some of her reiatsu will return quicker.”

He rocks back and forth on his heels before straightening. “A family trip to Seireitei? Yama-jii never would’ve considered it!”

“I believe Shuu-kun has done many things in his time as Commander that Yama-jii would never have thought of.”

“Well, that’s a fair point. Did you talk to Ichigo about this?”

“Not yet. After helping to boost Inoue’s  _ Souten Kisshun _ , they both fell asleep in the underground space.”

“I won’t make the decision for them. As soon as they’re all awake, I’ll speak to them about it. Yuzu-chan too. I noticed the kidou chain, by the way.”

She bows her head. “I did mean to speak to you about that. My apologies.”

“Bah, stop with all that politeness already! I’m not a Captain anymore, and I’m pretty sure you would beat me hands down in a fight. Anyway, I was gonna thank you. It looked like it might’ve taken a while to weave?”

“Compared to the chains I wear, the one I made for Yuzu was akin to child's play.”

“Show off.”

“I would never do such a thing. I’m heading back to the shop now if you want to join.”

“You’re telling me that you can use shunpo with an oaf like me tagging along?”

“Of course I can. It’s either that or you pop out and we have a race.”

“That’s too much hassle when one of us would have to tow my gigai~!”

“Still as lazy as ever, I see.”

***

Arriving back at the shop, they are greeted by Kisuke. “Welcome back, Isshin-san, Fujimori-san. The whole family is awake and reclining in Karin’s recovery room.”

“Righto. Michiko, would you sit in on this one?”

“Of course.”

Ichigo is the first to notice the pair as they enter the room and he shuffles closer to Orihime, making space for Isshin next to Karin’s futon. “Dad, Michiko.”

“Kids,” he said, lowering himself to sit with a groan. “Jeez, what a weekend this has been. Now, Michiko has just relayed to me a request from the big boss. He would like to meet the newest little substitute, and he’s even extended the invitation to the whole family!”

“What?! Kyouraku-san’s inviting us all to Seireitei?”

“What’s Seireitei? I thought it was called Soul Society!” Yuzu’s eyes flit across the faces of the shinigami sitting across from her and finally settle on Michiko.

“It’s both,” Michiko began. “All souls go to Soul Society, and Seireitei is just the part where most of the shinigami live and work.”

“Fujimori-san, why does the ‘big boss’ want to meet me?”

“I’m sure he’s just looking for an excuse to throw a party—”

Ichigo slaps the back of Isshin’s head. “Not helping, pops.”

“Whilst I cannot speak to the Commander’s exact reasons, you should not be worried about meeting him. Unlike the previous Commander, Kyouraku Shunsui is friendly and approachable, and laid back enough to want celebrations thrown every day if he could. At the very least, I believe he will present you with a substitute badge like Ichigo has.”

“But what about Yuzu? You said only souls can go to Soul Society, right?”

“They have ways of letting humans in. Back when we first went there, Chad, Orihime and Uryuu didn’t have to become souls.”

“I-I don’t want to go. I’ll be the only human there!”

“Yuzu…Michiko, if they’re gonna be setting up the Senkaimon for humans, Orihime could come as well, right?”

“I don’t see it being a problem.”

“You hear that, Yuzu-chan? Let’s stick together!”

“Okay!”

“So when do we leave?” Karin asked excitedly.  


“We will have to wait for confirmation that the Senkaimon will permit Yuzu and Inoue to pass safely—”

Isshin places a large hand on Michiko's shoulder. “Not so fast! It’s Monday tomorrow, girls, and both of you have school. Seireitei can wait!”

“Dad! What about my badge?”

“Actually, it would be better for you to stay in your human body until you come to visit. So, please leave the shinigami work to your brother for a while.”

“But—”

“Karin, no arguments. I know it’ll be difficult, knowing you could be helping but not being able to access your powers…I spent over twenty years like that. However, if Michiko believes it’ll be safer for you to stay contained in your human body for a few weeks, then we’ll listen to her. I’m sure she could even do some kind of bind. Right, Michiko?”

“Yes.”

“A bind? Michiko, what exactly does that mean?”

“In simple terms, I would be temporarily disconnecting Karin from her shinigami powers. Karin, you’ll still be able to feel spirits, and see hollows, but even if you tried to use a soul candy or your brother’s badge, your shinigami form would not emerge.”

“Just for a little while though, right?”

“Yes. I have already arranged to return to Seireitei ahead of you, but I will seek permission to come back and remove the binds before accompanying you all through the gate.”

“Okay. Fujimori-san, please lock my powers away.”

“Right. Stand up, please. If you don’t like snakes, you might want to close your eyes,” Michiko grasps Karin’s wrists and begins chanting. “ _ Ouroborosu-sama, sore no karada wo makitsukete to kono gotai ga karamashite. Tenshi Ryuuko kousoku yon: Renkan! _ ” Large globes of purple reiatsu swell around Karin’s wrists before splitting into tendrils. As Michiko completes the incantation, the tendrils become solid entities in the form of four large serpents. Slowly, the snakes wrap themselves around Karin’s human body — one around each of her limbs. The snakes extend their bodies until all four of their heads wrap around her neck, and the reiatsu settles before fading away. “It is done. You should not feel any discomfort from them, so focus on your human training for the time being, okay?”

A short while later, everyone moves to the courtyard in front of Urahara’s shop to bid farewell to Michiko. “I will reconfirm with Commander Kyouraku that I will travel here to meet you and remove Karin-san’s binds.  _ Kaijyou _ !” The senkaimon appears behind her and opens before a single hell butterfly flutters out.

“Wait, Fujimori-san!” Karin rushes forward and embraces Michiko. After a second of shock, Michiko smiles and pats Karin’s head. “Thank-you, for everything.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Musubero - verb meaning 'to tie' or 'to bind'.   
> Mikadzuki - 'Crescent moon'.  
> Dankuu - Kidou barrier/bakudou technique #81. Best transliteration is 'Splitting (or 'severing') void'. An almost invisible wall.  
> Shun Shun Rikka - 'Six flowers of the hibiscus shield'. Umbrella term for Orihime's special powers.  
> Hougyoku - the little orb Rukia carried in her unknowingly and Aizen was willing to kill her for. Yikes.  
> The bind Michiko applies to Karin roughly translates as the following: 'Great Ouroboros, wrap around this body and entwine with these limbs. Tenshi Ryuuko Way of Binding Number Four: Shackle!'. Simply referred to as Renkan ('shackle') later on.


	14. Chapter 14

**Seireitei**

“Hell butterfly confirmed! Fujimori-sama has returned, send the word!”

“Jeez, has there always been so much fanfare?” she wondered out loud.

“Fujimori-sama, the Commander would like to see you right away.”

“Right,” she quickly vanishes from sight and arrives at the inner doors to the Commander’s office in a single stride just a second later. Apart from the construction work that had started nearby, it is eerily quiet. “Reporting in. Fujimori Michiko.”

“Mikko-chan~, you beat me back,” he calls from behind her. When he reaches her, he puts a large arm around her shoulders and opens the doors. “Come on inside then, we have many things to discuss. Ah good, there’s finally more chairs in here! Oooh, cushions. Come come, Mikko-chan. Don’t be so stiff! Let’s just forget that I’m the big boss, at least for a little while, hm? Now, fill me in on the Kurosaki Clan.”

She scans the surrounding chambers for Shunsui’s lieutenants before relaxing onto one of the floor cushions across from him. “Right. As reported, little Karin has completed her basic training, and her reiatsu has stabilised to the point where she can safely continue using her human body. The family has accepted your invitation to visit here, along with the human Inoue Orihime to keep young Yuzu company. So that the children do not miss out on school, they would like to visit over the next school break, which is about a month from now. At Isshin’s request, I placed a _renkan_ bind on Karin to stop her from accessing her powers until then.”

“So it’s to be next month. Good! Now then, I hope you don’t mind me rapidly changing the subject here, but you may have noticed that the barrier that surrounds Seireitei has been mostly destroyed, yes? With the Kidou Corps in the state that it is currently, I would like for you to oversee and lead a task-force with the goal of repairing the shield. The training grounds behind the Thirteenth Division’s barracks were left largely untouched, and I have already confirmed with Rukia-chan that you can utilise the space. Hopefully, some of our more skilled kidou practitioners will volunteer. What do you think?”

She scoffs in disbelief. “That’s a huge job, Shuushuu! It will take a while to gather the numbers, and to train them as well?! It could take years.”

“Well, it’s already been three years, so what’s a few more?! Anyway, how you recruit and train your people is totally down to you. What do you say to starting the recruitment drive straight away? I think _Tenteikuura_ will get our message across very nicely.”

“Understood,” with the way that Michiko carries her blades, she had needed to experiment with the communication kidou that usually required the user to paint their forearms with a black powder. Eventually, she had discovered a way to condense the markings so that they could be painted only on her hands. With the markings complete, she designates Kyouraku as the speaker before speaking the incantation. “ _Kokubyaku no ami! Nijyuuni no kyouryou, rokujyuuroku no kantai. Ashiato, enrai, senpou, kaichi, yafuku, unkai, aoi tairetsu. Taien ni michite ten wo hashire! Bakudou nanajyuunana: Tenteikuura!”_ (Black and white net! Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowns and belts. Footprints, distant thunder, sharp peak, engulfing land, hidden in the night, sea of clouds, blue line. Form a circle and fly through the heavens! Way of Binding Seventy-Seven: Heavenly Rickshaws in Silken Air!). 

After a few moments, she confirms that the connection had been established with every shinigami currently inside Seireitei with a nod.

“My dear shinigami, this is your Commander speaking. In order to facilitate the reconstruction of our barrier, I have asked Fujimori Michiko to oversee a new task force. Any shinigami with skill in kidou should please report to the training area behind the Thirteenth Division’s barracks to meet with her tomorrow morning! Have a good evening.”

***

In the Lieutenant’s quarters of the Thirteenth Division, Rukia and Renji are lounging on the sofa when the _tenteikuura_ startles them. “This Fujimori must be a pretty big deal.” 

Without lifting her head from his chest, Rukia nods and resumes tracing the tattoos that run down his torso. “Commander Kyouraku-sama told me a little more about her when he visited earlier. Apparently, she was in solitary training for the past one hundred years so that she could take over the position of Commander for the Kidou Corps. It explains why in the meeting yesterday it seemed like only he remembered her.” 

“A hundred years without communication, and no idea what was going on out here?! Jeez. No wonder she left the way she did. You gonna join that task force?”

“Mhm, I think so. I mean, the training’s happening right out back.”

“Your kidou’s always been better than mine. There’s no way I could join, but I wonder if I could meet her anyway. I’m curious.”

Finally lifting her head from his chest, Rukia glares at him before shuffling up towards his face. With his eyes threatening to melt the icy exterior she was trying to maintain, she places her head against his neck and whispers in his ear, “Oh really? I thought your curiosity would have been sated by now.” His grip around her waist tightens.

Just as Rukia lifts her head, there is a noise from the other side of the door, and Kotsubaki Sentarou announces himself. “Reporting in! The shinigami Fujimori Michiko-sama has requested to meet with you, Lieutenant Kuchiki.” 

With all hopes of another private moment vanquished, Rukia quickly extracts herself from the compromising position. “I’ll be out soon!” Behind her, Renji slowly opens one of the windows at the back of the room and looks ready to sneak out. “Renji, what are you doing?! Just tie your kosode!” She turns towards the office door and smoothes her hair, but before she can reach to push the door open, it’s slid to one side from the outside. “Ah, you must be Fujimori-sama! Please, come in. Excuse the mess, but it’s been a busy few days. This is Abarai Renji, Lieutenant for the Sixth Division.” She gestured briefly to Renji before kneeling to pick up boxes and papers strewn across the floor.

“Nice to meet you both. Apologies for dropping by so suddenly, but I thought I would reacquaint myself with the training grounds, if you would not mind.”

“Of course! Please let me know if you need anything prepared for tomorrow,” she pauses, a flush rising in her neck and cheeks. “I-I’m kind of in charge around here, you see.”

“Yes. I was very saddened to hear of Captain Ukitake’s sacrifice,” she moves a few steps closer to Rukia before kneeling down to her level. “However, I do not think that you should discount yourself from gaining Captaincy so readily. You have acquired your bankai, yes?”

Her face shows a variety of emotions; shock, surprise, confusion, and perhaps a little embarrassment before she can answer. “I, uhm. Very recently. Compared to the likes of Renji, and some of the other Lieutenants—”

“Kuchiki-san. Sode no Shirayuki is ready to teach you all that you need to know in order to pass the captain’s exam. All you need to do is trust in yourself as she and Abarai-san do, and you can achieve anything.” 

“Forgive me, but how come you know the name of Rukia’s zanpakutou?” 

Michiko flashes him an impish smile. “Oh, but I know the names of all the zanpakutou here in Seireitei. Well, nearly all of them. As long as their shinigami has learnt their name, I can also learn it,” she studies the young man’s face briefly. “Your’s is Zabimaru. You first achieved your bankai quite some time ago, but evolved it to its true form during the last conflict, yes?”

“R-right,” he instinctively moves his hand to rest on Zabimaru’s hilt. 

“I did not explain that very well, did I? Ryuuko,” once again the forms of a dragon and tiger emerge from clouds of dark purple mist. The dragon quickly scrambles up to Michiko’s neck and tucks herself in for a nap, but the tiger steps forward. 

“Please forgive our Mikko. ‘til very recently, she only had us to talk to. We’re Tenshi Ryuuko, the twin souls of Mikko’s zanpakutou,” after a few moments of shocked silence, he continues. “What Mikko was tryna explain was Zanpakutou can speak ta each other as shinigami do. ‘Cos we’re always talkin’ ta Mikko, we can tell her the names we learn.”

“So, was it a similar technique that allowed you to identify the issue with Karin’s soul?” Not knowing quite where to look, Rukia had settled her gaze on Michiko.

“Exactly. Karin’s soul was screamin’ at all three of us, and it was unlike anythin’ we’ve ever experienced before,” his focus goes towards the hallway. “Oh, another zanpakutou comes ta join the party! Senbonzakura.” 

Michiko, who had been busying herself by petting the dragon’s head, hopes that her shock isn’t obvious. Before Renji can dash out of the window, she moves towards the door before turning to face the couple once more. “Why is it that you look so panicked? You two are married, and I would assume that it was with Kuchiki-sama’s blessing! I will go and intercept him, so that Abarai-san here can fix his uniform to give the appearance of a husband simply ‘visiting’ with his wife, hm?” As she closes the door behind her, she winks at Renji.

With their faces quickly turning to the same colour as Renji’s hair, they quickly lapse into a rather uncomfortable silence. “How—”

“Don’t worry about that now Renji! Sort yourself out!”

“Right, right.”

By tracking the route that Captain Kuchiki was using, Michiko is able to intercept him. She tries not to focus on the past, but that becomes immensely difficult as he turns the corner towards her. Ignoring the urge to run towards him, she keeps her back against the wall and turns her head towards him. “Captain Kuchiki.” 

“Fujimori Michiko. I came only to find my absent subordinate.” 

“Oh. But if you know where he is, is he really absent?” humour dances in her eyes as she catches him glancing towards the dragon on her shoulder.

“You should consider keeping that ability of yours more…secret.” 

Sensing the approach of Lieutenant Kuchiki, she gives him a lopsided smile.

“Nii-sama! Can I assume that you’re here for Renji? He fell asleep in my office, but he’ll be out in a second. Fujimori-sama, please take as long as you need in the training grounds.” 

“Thank-you, Lieutenant Kuchiki. Please think about what I said, hm? I will see you in the morning. Good evening to you both,” she bows and places a hand on the tiger’s back, using shunpo to disappear. Using her reiatsu cloaking, she is able to stand on the outside of the corridor where the siblings were standing. She smiles to herself, wondering how the conversation will continue as Abarai Renji joins them. 

“Captain! My apologies for making you come out this way.”

“Very well. Renji, go ahead.” 

Without risking a look at Rukia, he flashes away.

After a few moments, Byakuya closes the gap between himself and his sister. “Rukia. Please listen. Whilst Renji’s presence here was less than professional, it is perfectly reasonable for a husband to visit with his wife. Love is difficult to find, and even more difficult to keep. If your sister taught me anything, it was to seize all forms of love with open arms.” In an instant, Byakuya had knelt down and wrapped Rukia in an embrace. It is a foreign sensation for them both, and it ends as quickly as it started. Before she can formulate any response, he is gone.

On the other side of the wall, Michiko has to contain her own happiness before using shunpo to reach the training grounds. For the first time since returning to Seireitei, she fully drops her various reiatsu manipulation techniques. 

It is only a matter of minutes before he appears in front of her, and she smiles knowing that they can finally drop the act of not knowing each other. “Mikko,” there is so much he wants to say, needs to say, but the words don’t come.

“It is good to see you, Bya-bou.” 

“Captain Hitsugaya gave me your letters. I read them all.” 

After making a mental note to thank the white haired captain, Michiko finds herself unable to make eye contact. Her heart flutters. “Will you accept my apology?” With her head bowed, she only sees his feet as he moves closer. It was a single step, but it was enough for her to lift her head once more.

“I have never needed or wanted an apology, Mikko. It would have been even harder for both of us if you had been able to say goodbye.” 

Michiko once more fights the urge to reach out to him. “And in an instant, a hundred years of guilt and regret is lifted. Will I be seeing you here tomorrow for a try-out?”

“A try-out? The Kuchiki family has always been masters of kidou.”

“I know, but I cannot just invite you to the task force because you are a Captain!”

“Then I will do my try-out here, right now.”

She already knows that Byakuya will be her first recruit for the task-force, but she would not pass on the chance to spend time with him. With a bright smile, Michiko begins testing just how much the Captain has improved during her absence. With no time to think about how she was going to be testing any volunteers the next morning, she also uses this unexpected opportunity to consider the problem. She decides to start with something that she had taught him herself - kidou weaving. A concept similar to _nijyuu eishou_ , which combines the incantations and destructive powers of two offensive spells with the primary motive of confusing an opponent, Michiko’s weaving method allows for the practitioner to seamlessly blend multiple techniques. Many of the abilities with this method are those that only she can use, such as the _tateza_ enclosure she had constructed around Karin, but all those years ago she had applied the principles of the method to the kidou and kaidou techniques taught at the Academy. Byakuya had been her first and only student.

At her instruction, he weaves together two relatively low level bakudou techniques. As the rope of _hainawa_ shoot from his palm, they are met by the flames of _hourin_ coming from his other hand. After bringing his hands closer together, they overlap and merge into a single, fiery chain of explosive and constrictive power. When the weave stabilises he lowers his arms, and the kidou rope hangs from his palm like a flaming whip. “Well, it certainly looks good. Let’s see if it packs a punch.” 

Without hesitation, the chain shoots towards her with incredible speed. Michiko stretches her palm out as if to grab it, and activates another manipulation technique: Unravel. The effect is instant, causing the fiery chain to separate back into its two component parts. The yellow binding chains of _hainawa_ continue forward and crash into her palm before disappearing, and the flaming web of _hourin_ veers upwards and explodes against the darkening sky.

“Pretty good. Let’s see if you can deflect mine! _Issho ni nare_ , _bakudou yon_ : _hainawa, to bakudou kyuu: hourin_ !” She shoots her perfectly formed weave towards him at the same speed he had used previously, and he defends himself wordlessly with a _dankuu_ barrier. It had perhaps been a little premature, but Michiko had known that he would opt for the physical protection ward. With a smile and a flick of her index finger, the weave responds and snakes underneath the splitting void. She stops it from exploding, but waits until it wraps around his leg before dispelling it.

His complete abandonment of verbal components for the barrier had impressed her, and it also presents an interesting opportunity for the next part of her little test. After the splitting void disappears, she has him use another of her weaving methods. Loosely based on the _koujyutsu eishou_ class of kidou incantations, this next technique permits the user to strengthen or modify a recently casted spell, and it was particularly effective when used with barriers and other protective wards. 

Following her suggestion, Byakuya places a new _dankuu_ in front of himself before infusing it with the light blue glow of _seki_ . After it solidifies, Michiko begins trying to break through it with various techniques. Her first three spells, _byakurai_ , _shakkahou_ , and _soukatsui_ , are immediately repulsed by the blue energy, but she is not deterred. She continues her assault with _raikouhou_ , and _souren soukatsui_. The _seki_ had developed a weak spot, allowing some of the blue energy of _Souren Soukatsui_ to crash against the _dankuu_ barrier. “Not bad. I will not torture you any further,” for a second, she vanishes from his perception. Before he can blink, she now stands between him and his _dankuu_. “Good job Bya-bou,” after he fails to take a step back, she places her hand over his heart, and wraps a finger around his scarf. “You know, I have always wondered just how soft this scarf is. Would it break, if I tugged on it?” With the slightest hand movement, Michiko tugs on the fabric of the silver-white scarf until their lips brush against each other. He holds her gaze before a century's worth of temptation overwhelms them both. Using shunpo, she quickly transports them into the cave she had spent so many years alone.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tenteikuura - Bakudou #77. Used to communicate a message to many people at once, has been used by Kotetsu Isane and Tousen Kaname at some point. Incantation translates to the following: Black and white net! Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowns and belts. Footprints, distant thunder, sharp peak, engulfing land, hidden in the night, sea of clouds, blue line. Form a circle and fly through the heavens! Way of Binding Seventy-Seven: Heavenly Rickshaws in Silken Air!   
> Nijyuu Eishou - Roughly translates as 'two-fold chanting'. Only point of reference I can think of is Rukia versus the Espada with Kaien's face and memories.  
> Tateza - 'shield constellation'.  
> Hainawa - Bakudou #4. 'Crawling rope'.  
> Hourin - Bakudou #9. 'Disintergrating circle'.  
> Michiko likes to show off sometimes by using incantations... - 'Become one, Way of Binding Four: Crawling Rope, and Way of Binding Nine: Disintegrating Circle!'  
> Dankuu - Bakudou #81. 'Splitting void'.  
> Seki - 'Repulse'. Bakudou #8.  
> Byakurai - 'Pale lightning'. Hadou #4.  
> Shakkahou - 'Red fire cannon'. Hadou #31.  
> Soukatsui - 'Blue fire, crash down'. Hadou #33.  
> Raikouhou - 'Thunder roar sear'. Hadou #63.  
> Souren Soukatsui - 'Twin lotus blue fire, crash down'. Hadou #73.  
> Koujyutsu Eishou - Spoken after chanting.  
> Bakudou - 'Way of Binding'  
> Hadou - 'Way of Destruction'


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter + edits + writer's block = delayed posting! Many apologies...  
> As always, romaji will be translated/transliterated in the end notes. Words & phrases written in Romaji will now be shown in Bold Italics for clarity.

**Seireitei**

The next day: Monday   


When Michiko first awakens, she assumes she is once again alone in her little cave. But when she opens her eyes, she sees his haori spread across her torso like a blanket. She chuckles lightly to herself before putting it across her shoulders and standing from her makeshift bedding on the floor of the cave. Byakuya stands in the mouth of the cave, and the warmth of the rising sun brushes against her bare skin as she moves to stand with him. 

“I never ventured this far,” he says, pulling her closer against his chest.

She wraps her arms around his waist, wearing a confused expression on her face. “Why would you?”

“Why else? To find you, Mikko.”

“I never thought you would try such a thing. Say you had found me, what would you have done?”

“Hindsight is a dangerous game,” he says with a sigh. “The haori suits you.”

“Hmph. You are not the first man to let me wear his haori, you know.”

“Is your intention to make me jealous? I already know the tale of you ruining one of Ukitake’s haori on the day he met you, and that does not count.”

“I miss him, Bya-bou,” she says with tears spilling from her eyes. She buries her face into his chest, sobbing quietly and allowing the beat of his heart to calm her once more.

“I know. You are not the only one.”

“Y-you do not mean yourself, do you?”

“I have had three years to grieve, Mikko. Rukia still mourns him, I believe.”

“When Shuu-kun called her your sister, I was very confused.”

“Mikko, I am sorry—”

“You have nothing to apologise for, you silly man! It is like I said in one of those letters. I hoped you would find a beautiful wife, find happiness and peace, and have a whole house of little Kuchiki heirs,” a look of pain crosses her face. “You should head back. Before anyone can wonder where you are,” she shrugs his haori from her shoulders and extends it to him, once again not able to make eye contact.

He takes her hand into his when he reaches for the offered garment.“I still love you, Fujimori Michiko. Whenever you are ready, I will shoulder at least some of that grief—” He flinches when a prickling heat radiates across his palm. Whilst not painful, it’s still a warning.

Reiatsu as dark as the sky at twilight wraps around her body. “Please, Bya-bou. I am not ready,” her voice cracks. “I thought I would be, but I am not. Not yet,” she squeezes his hand one last time before pulling away and walking back into the cave. 

“I left a letter of my own for you, Mikko. Please read it,” as hard as it is for him to do, he turns and walks away.

At the back of the cave, Michiko turns her thoughts inwards. “Seiryuu, Byakko?”

_ Sheesh. I thought he’d never leave! _

“How much did you hear?”

_ Last night? Nothin’, thankfully. We tuned back in when ya reiatsu spiked. _

“Seiryuu-chan, what about you?”

_ The same as what the fur ball said. Your White Knight has left a scroll with your shihakushou, Mikko. Will you read it? _

Michiko lets out a frustrated groan before nodding and picking up the piece of parchment. She wonders when he could have written it as she sits in the mouth of the cave and peels off the wax seal bearing the camellia insignia of Division Six. Her eyebrows furrow briefly when two objects fall out from the unfurling scroll and land on her lap. One is a pressed cherry blossom, and the second is a pressed raceme of white wisteria flowers. With a smile on her lips, she tucks them behind her ears and finally begins to read.

_ My love, I wish I could say I have never forgotten you, never stopped thinking of you, but that would be dishonest. Had I remembered you I would have found you seven years ago, or perhaps even sooner. For that I am truly sorry. To answer your question, I will happily run through acres of trees with you. Do you remember the game we used to play? _

A childish laugh escapes her throat. “Silly man. Of course I remember,” she whispers to herself. Leaning back onto her elbows, she lazes in the warmth of the rising sun and recalls fond memories of the game Byakuya had mentioned. With a heavy sigh and equally heavy groan, she also remembers the mission Kyouraku had given her. The groan is largely because she will have to reapply the chains that had sent her here in the first place.

For the first time since that night one hundred and seven years ago, she had removed the chains that covered most of her body the night before. Shedding them had been easy, and rather exhilarating given the circumstances, but reapplying them would prove exceptionally tricky without help.

“Mikko, let us help. Our claws could never hurt you.”

“The dragon’s right. We’ll lend ya our paws, claws and jaws fer this task.”

“Thanks Ryuuko,” Michiko stands and allows her zanpakutou spirits to wind the chains around her body. The tiger uses his teeth to gently wrap her legs, whilst the dragon uses her talons to coil more chains around her arms. Once all four ends reach her torso, she pours some of her reiatsu into them so that they tighten against her flesh. The ends meld against her collarbone after looping around her neck, and take the appearances of the dragon and the tiger.

“Now, it is time for us to return to our blades so that you can equip us.”

Purple mist swirls and sweeps across the floor of the cave towards where the zanpakutou were resting against the back wall. After the last of the reiatsu fades, Michiko picks them both up and reattaches them to her forearms. She idly runs her fingers across the chains on her torso before moving to find her shihakushou. The shortened hakama that had once been popular among female shinigami could no longer be seen on the streets of Seireitei, so she had reluctantly asked for a full-length replacement. 

“Ugh. This will take some practice,” she mutters. As inconvenient as it may seem, she has to admit that it was a good idea, if only to stop others from seeing the chains wrapped around her thighs. The deep purple obi beneath her breasts completes her uniform. The whole process had taken almost an hour, and it was now time to return to the training grounds.

* * *

There is a sizeable crowd of curious shinigami in the forecourt of the training grounds behind the Thirteenth Division’s compound. Most notably, a group of Lieutenants stand at the front of the gathering, closest to the small dais that had been constructed. Whilst not a mandatory part of their uniforms, they had all opted to wear their insignia bands tied around their forearms.

One of these Lieutenants in particular grows impatient and starts pacing. “How long is she gonna keep us waiting for?!” Although he shared many aspects of his vice-captaincy with the strange green-haired visored Kuna Mashiro, Hisagi Shuuhei still had many duties to attend to as the chief editor for the  _ Seireitei Communication _ . 

“Hisagi-san! We only just got here,” says Lieutenant Hinamori.

“Surely a more pressing question would be who is she? Besides Commander Kyouraku-sama and Captain Hitsugaya-san, has anyone actually seen her?”

“I have,” Rukia says, flushing deeply when the other Lieutenants turn to look at her. “Soon after the  **_tenteikuura_ ** announcement, Fujimori-sama came to my office.”

“And?” prompts Rangiku.

“Oh. Uhm, she is quite...peculiar. Perceptive, too. Renji was with me, you see, and she seemed to know of our marriage without us saying anything.”

“Hnnn, but that could’ve been the Commander telling her some of what happened in her absence. Or perhaps someone in Karakura - Urahara, Ichigo, or even Orihime!”

Rukia nods to acknowledge Rangiku’s theory. 

Unbeknownst to the large gathering, Fujimori Michiko is already here. In fact, she had arrived long before any of the curious shinigami now surrounding her. By once more making herself invisible, she and the materialised spirits of Tenshi Ryuuko have been freely moving amongst the crowd whilst sharing observations.

_ There’s some real strong ‘uns here, Mikko. The lil noble came too! _

“She has potential.”

_ Yer keen on her...Or is it just the influence she has on yer knight? _

“The influence of looking exactly like his dead wife? I think not, Byakko-kun.”

_ Have ya seen the rack on that one?! And Muscles there ain’t exactly complainin’ at the eyefull he’s getting! _

“Would you please stop ogling and tell me some names?”

_ “Apart from Sode no Shirayuki, we’ve got Haineko and Kazeshini.” _

_ There is also Wabisuke and Tobiume. Mikko, when will you stop toying with them all and reveal yourself? _

_ Shaddup snake! The shadow slinkin’s part of the fun! _

“No, Seiryuu-chan is right. They have all waited long enough,” she concedes.  With a slight flick of her wrists, the two creatures dematerialise into clouds of reiatsu that rush back towards her. After moving to the dais at the front of the congregation she gradually lifts her invisibility, appearing before the gathered shinigami in the same way as she had appeared in front of Kisuke and Ichigo just a few nights ago. “Good morning everyone!” 

A collective gasp rises from the crowd. 

There’s a spattering of whispers and she raises an arm to silence them. “All of your questions will be answered! Where did I come from? I was always here. Am I truly the one you came to meet? Yes. My name is Fujimori Michiko, and Captain Commander Kyouraku has put me in charge of creating a task force to reconstruct the barrier that surrounds Seireitei. Why me? Well, although no one here is old enough to remember, I once held the position of Third Seat Officer in the Kidou Corps, and I was rather quickly selected as the next Commander. Unfortunately, it was less than a year into my solitary training for that position that the Kidou Corps all but collapsed following the exiles of Commander Tsukabishi Tessai and Lieutenant Ushouda Hachigen. Not that I knew that at the time!  Now then, who wants to see something cool?” She pauses for dramatic effect, but the hand that shoots up near the front of the crowd makes her smile. “Ah, rhetorical question, but I admire your enthusiasm, little Lieutenant-chan! As I said before, I had always been here. To summarise, I freely moved amongst you all and determined who was here to simply satisfy their curiosity about me, and those who want to join my task force! So, when I clap my hands, a little bit of kidou I set up is going to activate. Anyone who starts glowing, please stay where you are. If you do not light up, it is very nice to meet you, but please return to your duties.” 

The whispers resume until Ryuuko confirms the kidou is ready. “Okay, here we go!” Michiko raises her hands and claps once. Small pillars of light immediately appear around the feet of the candidates she had chosen. Those who weren’t selected mostly look embarrassed, and they start to slowly trickle away. “Congratulations! Now, if you would all please follow me, it’s time we got started.” 

The chosen group of shinigami step forward and walk behind her. “She’s strange,” whispers one of them.  


“Oh, Shuuhei! Strange is good. Captain Hitsugaya watched her fight against Ichigo, and she didn’t even have to hold her zanpakutou to win over his bankai!”

“Really? Jeez.”

After a few minutes, the group now stands in the basin of the training area with the peculiar shinigami in front of them. “Well, I would thank you all for coming out this morning. I only know Lieutenant Kuchiki, so could the rest of you please introduce yourselves? Ladies first, and how about we start with the eager little one from earlier, hm?” 

The small shinigami blushes furiously. “I’m Hinamori Momo. Lieutenant for the Fifth Division under Captain Hirako Shinji.”

“Matsumoto Rangiku. Tenth Division Lieutenant under Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou.”

“Gentlemen?”

“Hisagi Shuuhei. Ninth Division, under Captain Muguruma Kensei.”

“Kira Izuru. Lieutenant of the Third Division under Captain Outoribashi Roujyuurou.  **_Yoroshiku onegaishimasu_ ** ,” though none of the other Lieutenants had bowed, his noble upbringing dictates that he should. No matter how embarrassing it is to be the only one.

Michiko purses her lips to hold back a laugh. “Nice to meet you all. Over the next few hours, I will be testing all of your abilities and skill sets. Kidou is obviously our top priority, so we will start there. With that in mind, please show me your strongest offensive techniques!”

The five Lieutenants look confused as they search around for the targets they would be using. After a brief hesitation, one steps forward to address Michiko. “Uhm, excuse me, Fujimori-sama? There aren't any targets.” 

Michiko tips her head to one side. “What if I do this,” stepping backwards and into a shunpo, she reappears three metres away. “How about now, little peach? Still think you do not have a target?”

“Does she really mean for us to hit her?!”

“Yes, I do! Come on, I have not been smacked around properly for over a hundred years, so let’s see if any of you can do it!” 

Hisagi sighs and steps forward. “Jeez. Someone has to go first, right?” he begins muttering an incantation under his breath. “ **_Hadou sanjyuuni: Oukasen_ ** !” The yellow arc of light flies towards Michiko, who stands with her arms folded casually across her chest. She smiles at the intent behind the attack before tilting her head slightly to one side. The technique disappears entirely just before it reaches her. “W-What!?”

“Ooh, nice reaction! Who’s next? It’s easier when you are not first, right?”

Kira draws his zanpakutou. “ **_Hadou nanajyuuhachi: Zangerin_ ** !” The large wave of energy lifts away from the edge of his blade and begins soaring towards her. 

With her arms crossed once more over her chest, she closes her eyes. Just as it looks like the cutting flower ring might strike her, it dissipates. “Good! That was strong, but I’m getting bored. How about some multi-attacks? You can all attack at once, if you would like!”

Hisagi’s eyes widened drastically. “Is she serious?!”

“Yes! Totally serious. Who knows, maybe something will reach me!” 

The Lieutenants use shunpo to spread out around the arena. Michiko stands perfectly still in the centre and grins.

_ Oh Mikko, ya can be real cruel when ya want ta be! _

The various kidou attacks launch almost simultaneously. Hisagi Shuuhei is the first to unleash his attack, opting to use  **_Zangerin_ ** as Kira had done previously, and Kuchiki Rukia selects one of her signature kidou spells,  _**Souren Soukatsui**. _

On the opposite side of the rough semi-circle they had formed, Matsumoto Rangiku chooses the force of the earth with **_Daichi Tenyou_ ** . Hinamori Momo opts for a lightning based attack with **_Raikouhou_ ** , and Kira Izuru completes the onslaught with the flames of **_Haien_ ** .

Michiko waits. The rocks of Rangiku’s  _ Daichi Tenyou _ are reduced to rubble by Shuuhei’s  **_Zangerin_ ** , which dissipated as it had cut through the stones. That left three for Michiko to contend with. With her eyes closed, she allows her reiatsu to swell around her in an invisible dome for her primary defensive tactic of ‘Manipulate: Negate and Dissipate’.  The first to be negated is Momo’s  **_Raikouhou_ ** , and Michiko pulls the diminishing dome tighter around her following the impact. The two remaining blasts continue to crash towards her, and Michiko has to stop herself from laughing at the good levels of intent behind them both. Ryuuko is also rather excited, and they begin to whisper in anticipation.

_ Which one…which one… _

_ Who will hit their mark?! _

Michiko exhales slowly as the final attacks reach the exterior of her shield. Rukia’s  **_Souren Soukatsui_ ** is the first to crash against the solidified reiatsu before it sizzles out to nothing, but the force behind it consumes a significant portion of her defense. With a grin, Michiko once again shrinks the dome until it almost merges with her body, and  **_Haien_ ** crashes against her. 

The pillar of dust in the basin prevents the group of Lieutenants from seeing if they have been successful, so all they can do is wait. None of them speak.  


It doesn’t take long before they see her walking out of the dust cloud. Michiko’s shihakushou has a sizable tear down one side, but the wound underneath has already started clotting. She laughs gleefully. “Good stuff! Now, who did it? Ah, Izuru-san. Seems that you are a bit of a dark horse, eh?”

“Kira-kun! Good job!”

“Yes. Good job indeed. Damn, this was a brand new shihakushou, too!”

“Ahh, are you okay, Fujimori-sama?”

“Do not worry about me, Izuru-san! You all pass this test. Please sit down around me and draw your blades. Now, a few of you opted for blade release type kidou; are you aware that almost any kidou can be channeled through your zanpakutou? With good communication, and a bond built on mutual respect, the power levels can be massively increased. Let’s start with you, Rangiku. You find Haineko to be stubborn and uncooperative, yes? Show her that you respect her. She already has love for you as her partner, and her stubbornness mostly comes from your reluctance to train alongside her.”

Releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding, she can only nod.

“Shuuhei, it’s fair to say that you do not really like Kazeshini, right? However, you have now pushed that to one side and achieved bankai. With some more work and a deeper understanding, you will be able to master this technique.”

His head drops to look at the zanpakutou across his lap, hoping to hide the flush entering his face.

“Rukia. You and Sode no Shirayuki already have a deep bond. Although you only recently attained bankai, she is ready to teach you everything you need to know. All she needs is for you to believe in yourself, and to stop doubting your incredible skill!”

Though she had already heard it the night before, having her abilities reconfirmed by someone as strong as Michiko still makes her blush.

“Momo, you love Tobiume, and that’s great! I think you have known for a little while that you could master the technique I’m speaking of. Tobiume senses some hesitation in your heart. Her respect for you as her partner goes so deep that she does not want to push you to learn more of her abilities.”

A tear splashes onto her zanpakutou, and she silently thanks Tobiume as well as Michiko.

“Izuru. Your Wabisuke is not much of a talker, is he? You two need to try and break that silence! Whew, lecture over! I need a little rest, but please go ahead and do whatever it is you do when you train with your zanpakutou,” with a dismissive wave of her hand, she lays down and closes her eyes.

The group of Lieutenants stand up and move away from Michiko before huddling together to speak more privately. With their backs turned and attention drawn away from her, they don’t notice the swirling purple mist seeping from the sleeves of her shihakushou. The tiger stretches his legs and yawns before looking for the dragon who has already taken to the sky.

“How? How did she know so much about our zanpakutou?!” Hisagi asks at a whisper.

“It’s something to do with her own zanpakutou. She can materialise it at will, and they are in constant communication with each other. It’s pretty incredible, and she can learn the name of any zanpakutou just by being near it.”

“The young noble has it right,” says a voice from above them. The blue dragon lands next to the tiger and sits on her hind quarters before continuing. “Greetings, Lieutenants. We are Tenshi Ryuuko. While Mikko rests, we will be working with you.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- The story of how Michiko ruined Ukitake's haori is told in 'A Chance Encounter'. Navigate to my profile if you want to read it!
> 
> Lots of romaji this time!
> 
> Tenteikuura - 'Heavenly rickshaws in Silken Air'. Communication technique.  
> Yoroshiku onegaishimasu - 'I look forward to working with you'.  
> Hadou - 'Way of Destruction'. Subclass of kidou.  
> Sanjyuuni - the number 32. (Three-Ten-Two)  
> Oukasen - 'Yellow Fire Flash'.   
> Nanajyuuhachi - the number 78. (Seven-Ten-Eight)  
> Zangerin - 'Cutting Flower Ring'.   
> Souren Soukatsui - 'Twin Lotus Blue Fire, Crash Down'. Hadou #73.  
> Daichi Tenyou - 'Upturned Earth Dance'. Hadou #57.  
> Raikouhou - 'Thunder Roar Sear'. Hadou #63.  
> Haien - 'Abolishing Flames'. Hadou #54.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A break from the action of Seireitei for a picnic in Karakura Town for Ichigo and his friends!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A light sprinkling of bad language. Everyone's tolerance is different, and as a Brit my own tolerance is probably a bit higher? *shrug*

**One Week Later.**

_Karakura Town_

The young couple had arranged a large picnic in one of the local parks for all of their friends so that they could share the news of their relationship. They have only been together for a week, but with the family trip to Seireitei planned for the following weekend, this Saturday seemed as good a time as any; especially when they had realised everyone invited was scheduled to work at events during the upcoming Golden Week.

Orihime had, of course, prepared all kinds of foods that were strange for anyone but herself. Yuzu had prepared some of the more ‘standard’ picnic foods including a whole stack of bentou, for which Ichigo was very grateful. Since their arrival some fifteen minutes earlier, Orihime has been busying herself by arranging and rearranging the items they had spread out on the large blanket. At this point, it looks more like a buffet.

Ichigo laughs when she once again switches around the plates of food. “It looks great no matter how you arrange it all, ‘hime!” He reaches for her hand and pulls her over. “C’mon, what’s bothering you?”

“Do you think,” she pauses to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “Won’t it look strange that we both got here first?”

“So that’s it, huh? I’d say it’s not all that strange. This picnic, everyone thinks it’s your idea in the first place, and look at all this food! It’s obvious that you didn’t bring it all here yourself, not to mention the fact that Yuzu’s bentou all have her name on them. Would you please try and relax now? They should all start arriving soon,” he says. When Orihime nods, he plants a kiss on her forehead.

Soon enough, their friends began to trickle towards them. In all, they had invited the six people they considered to be their closest friends; Ishida Uryuu, Sado Yasutora, Arisawa Tatsuki, Asano Keigo, Kojima Mizuiro, and Honshou Chizuru. Orihime had also tried to invite Dokugamine Riruka, but the young fullbringer had declined after Orihime told her the rest of the invitees. Luckily, it was Tatsuki and Chizuru who had arrived first and finally calmed Orihime down a bit.

In the two years since they had all graduated from Karakura High, this was the first time that they would all be congregating together at the same time. Even though they had all helped embroider Rukia’s wedding veil the month before, it had proved impossible to have them all in the same place for any amount of time. It meant they all had a lot of catching up to do.

“I can’t believe it’s already been a month since we were last in Seireitei,” says Uryuu.

Ichigo and Orihime had already agreed not to mention their upcoming trip and the reason for it. “So what’s everyone been up to?” He asks.

Tatsuki boasts of her latest set of Karate tournament victories before turning to Ichigo. “There’s a kid who cries as much as you used to in one of my classes now. He’s an annoying little shit too!”

“Karma’s a bitch,” Ichigo retorts around a mouthful of  **_kare-pan_ ** . “Maybe if you’d let me win occasionally back then, you wouldn’t be having this issue now.”

“Perhaps, but it’s also possible that Arisawa-san’s constant beatings were what made you such a stubborn opponent later on. Everytime you lost a fight back then you’d come back stronger, Kurosaki-san.”

Ichigo glares in Uryuu’s direction, eyebrows furrowing in an attempt to formulate some kind of comeback. Tatsuki roars with laughter before slapping Uryuu across the back to thank him for the compliment, regardless of how off-handed it might have been.

After almost two hours of talking, laughing, and eating, Ichigo draws Orihime’s attention and decides it was time for their announcement. “This picnic wasn’t just so that we could all catch up. Recently, as most of you know, Rukia and Renji got married. When we went up for the ceremony, Renji told me that he’d been sitting on his feelings for a long time whilst everything was going on. Basically, it made me realise some feelings of my own…for Orihime. We hope you can all be happy for us.”

The first to react is Chizuru, who flings her arms around Orihime's neck and sobs loudly whilst mumbling her congratulations. Tatsuki peels Chizuru away from Orihime before throwing Ichigo a look. “This is your job from now on!” She says gesturing at Chizuru who now cries into her shoulder.

“First Kuchiki-chan gets hitched, and now Inoue-chan’s taken too?! There’s gonna be no cuties left for us soon enough, Mizuiro~!” Keigo says under his breath.

“ _**Hai hai**. _ Whatever you say, Asano-san.”

After noticing that the sky was darkening with the threat of bad weather, the friends bid each other farewell and gave more congratulations to the couple.

Ichigo watches the last of their friends leave before wrapping his arms around Orihime’s waist. "That wasn't too bad! Will you admit to being too worried about it now?"

"Mhm. I actually got the impression they had all expected it!" She replies, leaning her head back onto his shoulder.

"Yep. I know I said it before, but I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

"I never would have stopped waiting for you, Ichigo.”

They forget all about the rain clouds gathering above them and the people walking past as they kiss once more.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Golden Week - A week of festivals in many areas of Japan, usually during the last week of April.  
> Kare-pan - A Japanese convenience food of a bread bun filled with curry sauce/paste! 'Kare-' pseudo-English (wasei eigo) word for Curry. 'Pan' from the french word for Bread.  
> Hai hai - The equivalent of 'yeah yeah', as a means of dismissing what someone else said.


	17. Chapter 17

**Seireitei**

**04/28 (Friday)**

The group of shinigami that Michiko had been training over the last month looked to be on the brink of either success or collapse. As they were all Lieutenants, they had to balance the task-force training with their various other duties, and in order to ease some of that pressure, Michiko had arranged private sessions with each of them. Rukia was receiving evening classes to allow her to also run the Thirteenth Division, and Captain Hitsugaya was more than happy for Rangiku to train as often as possible — saying that it was better than her usual day-drinking and napping. Captain Muguruma Kensei had apparently acted rather indifferent when Shuuhei had requested time away from his duties, whilst Captains Hirako Shinji and Outoribashi ‘Rose’ Roujyuurou had seemed more interested in Michiko herself than their respective Lieutenant’s requests. 

After finishing her training sessions for the week with everyone but Rukia, she realises it has already been a month; she would have to leave for the Human World again shortly. With a quick shunpo, she stands outside her office and knocks. “Rukia?”

“Please come in, Fujimori-sama.” 

Opening the door, she sees Rukia lounging on the sofa having seemingly woken up from a nap. She has a pale complexion with ruddy cheeks. “Oh Rukia! If you don’t mind me saying, you’re looking rather ill.” 

She grimaces, “I think I ate something bad. Did you need something, Fujimori-sama?” 

_ Mikko, this is not food poisoning… _

“Oh, yes. I’m heading to Karakura Town soon, and if it all goes smoothly I should still be able to conduct your training this evening,” she moves to sit next to Rukia. “But it will be down to you if you feel well enough for it.” 

“I remember now, you’re going to escort the Kurosaki family. It will be great to see them all again. Especially little Karin.”

She reaches to sweep a stray hair from Rukia’s forehead. “Well, you should try and get some more rest so that you can greet them later on. I could help to alleviate some of your symptoms, if you would like.” 

“Oh, thank-you.” 

Michiko places her palm over Rukia’s abdomen and the familiar green glow of kaidou appears. Seiryuu’s suspicions are quickly confirmed, and she barely manages to keep the shock from her face by smiling. “Hopefully that should at least help you to get some rest.” 

“I feel better already. Thank-you, Fujimori-sama,” she blushes and diverts her eyes. “Uhm, if you happen to see Renji, could you please send him over?” 

Michiko places her hand over hers. “Of course. Rest well, Rukia.” 

A gust of warm air blows past her when she closes the door behind her, and she smiles at the parchment now tucked into the collar of her shihakushou. “Well played Bya-bou,” she says to herself before disappearing to read his note.

_ Your victory is not as assured as it once was _ , it says.

“Is that so?” She mutters with a giggle, pondering how to respond. Her tongue pokes out the side of her mouth as she scribbles her reply.  With her note finalised and tucked into the space between her wrist and the tip of one of her zanpakutou’s blade, she searches Seireitei’s mass of reiatsu signatures once more.

* * *

He is just turning out of the Sixth Division’s compound when she appears in front of him, and he almost walks straight into her. “Woah, steady on!” Renji exclaims. “Oh, Fujimori-sama. My apologies,” he adds with a hasty bow.

“It was my fault, so please don’t apologise. I have a message for you,” she waits for a group of shinigami to walk past. “Rukia would appreciate you visiting with her.”

His face softens. “Oh, really? She’s feeling better?” 

Michiko bites her tongue briefly, considering. “Rukia’s ailment is not contagious, and I’m sure she would like the company. I should report to the Commander before I head out.” 

“Head out?” 

“Kurosaki- **_ke_ ** is visiting Seireitei this weekend. I’m escorting them through the  **_dangai_ ** .”

“Jeez, it’s really been a month already? Well, I’m sure we’ll see you later.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -ke : honorific meaning 'family'.  
> Dangai : the corridor dimension between Soul Society and the human world.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter for this part of the story!

**Karakura Town**

In the underground space of his store, Urahara Kisuke and Kurosaki Isshin were trying to explain to the younger Kurosaki siblings why they would be going through the large and peculiar looking portal, instead of through one like Michiko had used the month before.

Isshin sits in front of Karin and Yuzu. “Girls, do you remember that little butterfly that came out from Michiko’s gate?”

“That was a butterfly? It looked more like a moth to me,” Karin replies.

“It’s called a Hell Butterfly,” Urahara adds. “Not the nicest terminology, admittedly.”

“Those butterflies work like escorts for the  **_shouji_ ** doors, and only shinigami can use them. Urahara, am I going completely off-track here? I never paid attention to this stuff.”

“Not at all! Well, perhaps a little.”

Ichigo crouches behind his sisters and puts his hands on their shoulders. “We’re using Urahara’s contraption ‘cos we’ve got humans with us,” he says, gently squeezing their shoulders. “That’s all you need to know,” he adds with a warning look to Isshin and Urahara.

Soon after, Ururu had carried down a selection of  **_kimono_ ** for Orihime and Yuzu to try on so that they wouldn’t stand out as much amongst the shinigami by wearing ‘modern’ clothes. Yuzu had quickly selected a pale pink  **_kimono_ ** with an intricate design of yellow flowers highlighted in gold, and paired it with a light yellow  **_obi_ ** . Orihime took a little longer deciding, but finally opted for a dark blue  **_kimono_ ** with a silver  **_obi_ ** , both of which had been embroidered with moons and stars.

“Senkaimon in the courtyard!” Shouts Tessai from the top of the ladder, almost an hour after they had all arrived. 

“Finally!” Ichigo exclaims.

Less than a minute later, Michiko lands at the base of the ladder. “Sorry to keep you waiting! Things to see, people to do, you all know the drill! Karin, let’s get you out of those binds,” kneeling in front of Karin, she gestures for her arms to be lifted with her palms up. After drawing several lines in the sand around Karin’s feet, she begins an incantation. “ **_Ouroborosu-sama, kore karada wo tokuite, soshite sono gotai wo nigashite. Tenshi Ryuuko kousoku yon: renkan kaijyou_ ** !” They had both been engulfed by a swirling purple mist during her incantation. From across Karin’s body, the forms of four large serpents reappear before slithering down onto the ground and disappearing through the lines that she had made. With a nod from Michiko, Urahara’s cane touches Karin’s forehead and she is released into her shinigami form once more. “Good! Your reiatsu has remained stabilised, and there has already been some regeneration,” she adds before standing up.

Everything had happened so quickly and it is only when she stands up that they notice the changes she has made to her uniform. “Fujimori-san, you changed your shihakushou!” Orihime comments with a wave.

“Oh, you noticed! Apparently the ‘mini-skirt’ style hakama fell out of fashion during my time away,” she says with a shrug. “But enough about me! Inoue, you look beautiful in that kimono. Are we ready to go?”

“Preparations have been completed, and the connection has been verified so that you will arrive at the main gate inside Seireitei. Remember that this is the less than friendly path, so it may be wise for young Yuzu-san and perhaps Inoue-san to be carried through.” 

Isshin kneels down in front of Yuzu, allowing her to climb onto his back. Ichigo also helps Orihime climb onto his back before turning to Kisuke. “Open it up, Urahara! Karin, it’s better to run, and try not to look back.”

The portal flickers to life. Isshin takes the lead with Yuzu clinging to his back. Karin and Ichigo run alongside each other, with Michiko bringing up the rear.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shouji - 'paper sliding door'.  
> Kimono - literal translation 'wear things', but is widely used to refer to traditional Japanese clothings.  
> Obi - the belt/sash worn around the waist of a kimono. Usually narrow and plain for males, but females can be very wide (like Unohana's) and ornate.  
> Michiko's kidou incantation translates as the following: Great Ouroboros, unwrap from this body, and set free these limbs. Tenshi Ryuuko Way of Binding Four: Shackles unlock!


End file.
